Japan shares fall on pandemic worries as rest of Asia rises

TOKYO (AP) — Asian shares were mostly higher Wednesday, ahead of Joe Biden's inauguration as U.S. president. Japan's benchmark lost early gains as worries grew about the surge in coronavirus cases. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 lost early gains to slip 0.4% in morning trading to 28,515.21. Australia's...

Japan urges South Korea to drop wartime compensation demands

TOKYO (AP) — Japan's foreign minister accused South Korea on Monday of worsening already strained ties by making “illegal” demands for compensation for the sexual abuse of Korean women and use of forced laborers during World War II. Toshimitsu Motegi, in a diplomatic policy speech in...

N. Korea's parliament rubber stamps new development plans

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament has passed decisions made by a major ruling party meeting where leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster his nuclear deterrent and established plans to salvage the country's battered economy. The North’s Korean Central News Agency...

Moon urges Biden to learn from Trump's N. Korea diplomacy

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president on Monday urged the incoming Biden administration to build upon the achievements and learn from the failures of President Donald Trump’s diplomatic engagement with North Korea. A dovish liberal and the son of northern war refugees, Moon Jae-in...

SKorean court gives Samsung scion prison term over bribery

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Billionaire Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong was sent back to prison on Monday after a South Korean court handed him a two and a half-year sentence for his involvement in a 2016 corruption scandal that spurred massive protests and ousted South Korea’s then-president. In a...

South Korean court sentences Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong to 2 ½ years in prison over corruption case

Four-time champ Chen wins short program with ease

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nathan Chen doesn't miss. As he has done since his last loss at the Pyeongchang Olympics — yes, nearly three years ago — the dynamic Chen was nearly perfect and rather playful in winning the short program Saturday at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Saturday. Seeking...

North Korean parliament to convene to approve Kim's agenda

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament was scheduled to convene Sunday to pass decisions made by a major ruling party meeting where leader Kim Jong Un vowed maximum efforts to expand his nuclear weapons program in face of what he described as U.S. hostility. The...

N.Korea holds huge military parade as Kim vows nuclear might

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea displayed new submarine-launched ballistic missiles under development and other military hardware in a parade that underlined leader Kim Jong Un’s defiant calls to expand the country's nuclear weapons program. State media said Kim took center stage in Thursday...

S. Korean court upholds prison term for ex-president Park

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a 20-year prison term for former President Park Geun-hye over bribery and other crimes as it ended a historic corruption case that marked a striking fall from grace for the country’s first female leader and conservative...