Top Asian News 3:39 a.m. GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The rival Koreas are holding high-level talks Monday to discuss further engagement amid a global diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear standoff with North Korea. South Korea said Monday's talks will be aimed at finding ways to carry out peace agreements announced after the summit last month between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. The meeting between senior officials comes at a sensitive time as Washington has expressed unease over the fast pace in inter-Korean engagement, which it says should move in tandem with U.S.-led efforts to denuclearize the North.

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The nine climbers who died during the worst disaster on a Nepal mountain in recent years included the first South Korean to summit all 14 Himalayan peaks over 8,000 meters without using supplemental oxygen. Seoul's Foreign Ministry confirmed on Monday that Kim Chang-ho was among the dead but has not yet disclosed the names of the four other South Koreans. Four Nepalese guides also were killed when a storm swept the climbers' base camp on Gurja Himal mountain Friday. Rescuers had retrieved the climbers' bodies on Sunday after weather cleared. The body of one of the guides was taken to his village, while the eight others were flown to Kathmandu.

The nine climbers who died during a storm on a Nepal mountain included Kim Chang-ho, who was the first South Korean to summit all 14 Himalayan peaks over 8,000 meters without using supplemental oxygen. Seoul's Foreign Ministry confirmed his identity Monday but has not yet disclosed the names of the four other South Koreans who died in the weekend storm. Four Nepalese guides also were killed when a storm swept their base camp on Gurja Himal mountain Friday. Kim achieved his feat in 2013. The South Korean ministry told reporters the storm blew the victims from their base camp off a steep cliff.

SYDNEY (AP) — Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle arrived in Sydney on Monday, a day before they officially start a 16-day tour of Australia and the South Pacific. The trip is their only international tour since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were married in May, apart from a two-day visit to Ireland. The prince and the former American actress landed on an overcast morning after a commercial flight from London with a brief stopover in Singapore. They have 76 engagements scheduled over 16 days in Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. In Australia, they will pet a koala in a Sydney zoo, visit in the drought-stricken Outback town of Dubbo and meet indigenous leaders on Fraser Island, the world's largest sand island, in northeastern Queensland state.

WASHINGTON (AP) — By making a rare second trip this year to Vietnam, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is signaling how intensively the Trump administration is trying to counter China's military assertiveness by cozying up to smaller nations in the region that share American wariness about Chinese intentions. The visit beginning Tuesday also shows how far U.S.-Vietnamese relations have advanced since the tumultuous years of the Vietnam War. Mattis, a retired general who entered the Marine Corps during Vietnam but did not serve there, visited Hanoi in January. By coincidence, that stop came just days before the 50th anniversary of the Tet Offensive in 1968.

NEW DELHI (AP) — India's junior external affairs minister on Sunday denied any wrongdoing after more than a dozen women accused him of sexual misconduct when he was a newspaper editor. M.J. Akbar threatened to take legal action against the women, calling the allegations "false, baseless and wild" in a statement issued hours after he returned from an official trip to Africa. It's the first time Akbar has reacted publicly to the string of accusations against him amid calls from journalists and opposition politicians for him to resign. "The allegations of misconduct made against me are false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice," Akbar said in the statement.

ASAKA, Japan (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe renewed his pledge Sunday to push for a revision to the country's war-renouncing constitution, in which he wants the military explicitly mentioned. Speaking before a field of about 4,000 troops, Abe said that a revision is needed to give his troops sense of pride. "You have gained public trust with your own hands," Abe, wearing a tuxedo, told the troops in his address. "Now it's time to fulfill our responsibility as politicians to accommodate an environment where all Self-Defense Force can accomplish their duties with sense of pride." About 260 tanks and other military vehicles and 40 warplanes were exhibited at the event.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Several thousand pro-military and nationalist demonstrators marched through Yangon on Sunday, voicing their support for Myanmar's armed forces and government while condemning foreign involvement in the country's affairs. The march led to a stage lined with portraits of Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, where speakers addressed a flag-waving crowd and condemned the international community's involvement in Myanmar, claiming groups would "fight back" against international bodies who have called for the investigation and prosecution of the country's top generals. "We, the people of Myanmar, strongly denounce and condemn any intervention or intrusion by the foreign countries, international communities and various organizations which unrightfully manipulate our nation and our Myanmar armed forces," proclaimed one of the speakers of the event, reading from a prepared statement.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's prime minister says he has agreed to the resumption of U.S. military-led missions to search for the remains of Americans missing in action during the Vietnam War, following an appeal from two U.S. state lawmakers. The long-running program was suspended a year ago after the U.S. government stopped issuing visas to senior Cambodian Foreign Ministry officials and their families. The tit-for-tat move came amid sharply deteriorating relations between the two countries. In a letter released on Saturday addressed to Washington state Sen. Doug Ericksen and Washington state Rep. Vincent Buys, both Republicans, Prime Minister Hun Sen said he appreciated their understanding of "Cambodia's ongoing socio-economic and democratic progress," and was agreeing to remove the block "in the same compassionate spirit." He added that he was making the move even though the visa ban remains in place.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim has taken his oath as a lawmaker, marking his return to active politics three years after he was imprisoned for sodomy in a charge critics said was politically motivated. The swearing-in ceremony in parliament Monday followed Anwar's huge win in a by-election Saturday in the southern coastal town of Port Dickson. The seat was vacated after a lawmaker from his party quit to pave the way for Anwar's political comeback. Anwar, 71, was designated as successor to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad after the two men set aside a bitter feud and united to capture a stunning victory in May's general election.