Top Asian News 3:43 a.m. GMT

DONGDUCHEON, South Korea (AP) — Ninety-three-year-old Ham Sung-chan's eyes widen with excitement as he describes the shock and euphoria of reuniting with his baby brother, now 79, during three days of family reunions in North Korea. But there's a deep and bitter regret, too, and it stems from a simple bit of math: After nearly 70 years of a separation forced by a devastating 1950-53 war that killed and injured millions and cemented the division of the Korean Peninsula into North and South, Ham and his North Korean brother only got a total of 12 hours together. Ham was one of the 197 South Koreans who visited North Korea's scenic Diamond Mountain resort from last Monday to Wednesday for rare reunions with relatives in the North.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — China on Saturday lashed out at President Donald Trump for accusing Beijing of not being supportive in efforts to denuclearize North Korea, while South Korea called the U.S. decision to call off a trip to the North by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "unfortunate." The reaction in Seoul and Beijing came hours after President Donald Trump directed Pompeo to delay his trip because of what he saw as a lack of progress on nuclear disarmament talks with the North. Trump also said the nuclear negotiations with North Korea have been hampered by a lack of support from China, which is the North's only major ally and is engaged in an intensifying trade dispute with the United States.

BEIJING (AP) — Police in northeastern China say they have detained the owner of a resort hotel where a fire killed 19 people and injured 23 others. The public security bureau of the city of Harbin says on its official social media account it's questioning the legal representative of the Beilong Hot Spring Leisure Hotel on suspicion of negligence leading to Saturday's fire. The disaster added to a string of deadly blazes that have plagued China despite official efforts to improve public safety over the past two decades. State TV says the fire broke out at the four-story hotel in Harbin's Sun Island recreation area at 4:36 a.m.

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia's latest leader, Scott Morrison, spoke with President Donald Trump, organized his Cabinet and met drought-affected farmers on Saturday as the backlash continued over yet another prime minister selected by an internal party vote. A day after replacing Malcolm Turnbull following a ballot among parliamentarians from the ruling Liberal Party, Morrison had what he called a "great" phone conversation with Trump. "Had a great discussion with @realDonaldTrump this morning," Morrison tweeted. "We affirmed the strength of the relationship between the US and Australia." Trump had earlier tweeted: "Congratulations to new Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. There are no greater friends than the United States and Australia!" During their conversation, Trump and Morrison underscored the importance of the bilateral partnership between the U.S.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Kim Kyung-jae will probably never be chosen in the government lottery that would allow him to reunite one last time with his relatives in North Korea. But that's no problem, he said this week in an interview, even as a small group of the lucky South Koreans who won the lottery met with their loved ones in North Korea. The 86-year-old Kim is one of a dwindling number of elderly South Koreans who, frustrated with North Korea's reluctance to allow more frequent reunions and by the small chance that they'll be selected before they die, found unofficial networks to communicate with their North Korean relatives.

KUTUPALONG, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees on Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of the attacks that sent them fleeing to safety in Bangladesh, praying they can return to their homes in Myanmar and demanding justice for their dead relatives and neighbors. More than 15,000 gathered in the morning on a hilltop in the Kutupalong refugee camp, part of a sprawling web of settlements that are now home to nearly 900,000 Rohingya who have fled Myanmar to escape violence. The camps exploded in size last year after Myanmar's army launched a wave of anti-Rohingya attacks on Aug. 25, with some 700,000 Rohingya eventually pouring across the border.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Vladimir Putin's Russia appears to have emerged as a player in Afghanistan after 17 years of Western involvement that has left the country no closer to peace than before. To some, Russia's offer to host talks next month might contain at least the seeds of a positive pivot if the Taliban are coaxed to the table at a time when they have been more aggressive on the battlefield than in recent years, causing much mayhem in Kabul and other cities. But the move may be stuck before it even begins. The Afghan government has said it will not attend, unable to agree on a coherent strategy because of divisions within the government that many see as a function of personal and ethnic rivalries, and calling for the Taliban to first agree to direct talks with Kabul.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Two countries. One significant medal. A combined Koreas crew earned a historic bronze medal at the Asian Games on Saturday by finishing third in the women's 200-meter dragon boat final behind China and games host Indonesia. It was the first time a combined team from North Korea and South Korea has won a medal at a major multi-sport international event. And it was awarded to Korea — the name given to the combined teams the war-divided countries entered in rowing, canoeing and women's basketball. "In the first place, we weren't sure if this unified team would be formed, but I'm so happy that we won the bronze medal in the end," the crew's captain, South Korean Kim Hyeon-hee, was quoted as saying by Yonhap.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A former Cambodian opposition lawmaker who has been a strong critic of the government's handling of demarcating the border with neighboring Vietnam has been pardoned by the country's king. Um Sam An, a member of the now-dissolved opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, was sentenced in October 2016 to 2 1/2 years in prison for making comments on the politically sensitive topic and implying that Prime Minister Hun Sen's government failed to counter land encroachment by Vietnam, Cambodia's traditional enemy. In a letter on Saturday, King Norodom Sihamoni said Um Sam An had been granted amnesty from his jail term.

President Donald Trump has congratulated new Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Trump tweeted, "There are no greater friends than the United States and Australia!" Morrison was chosen by his party's lawmakers in a leadership ballot Friday and was sworn in later in the day. Malcolm Turnbull officially handed in his commission as prime minister and has told Morrison he will soon leave Parliament. Disgruntled government lawmakers argued that most had lost faith in Turnbull. He became the fourth prime minister dumped by own party since 2010 in an extraordinary period of political instability that frustrates most Australians.