Here are a few compelling stories from across Asia that you may have missed this week.
DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, center, acknowledges participants during a ceremony to mark the 69th anniversary of the signing of the ceasefire armistice that ended the fighting in the Korean War, Pyongyang, July 27, 2022. /CFP
Kim Jong Un, supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), has said his country is ready to mobilize its nuclear war deterrent and counter any U.S. military provocation, state media reported on Thursday.
Kim made the remarks during a speech at an event to mark the 69th anniversary of the July 27 Korean War armistice. Kim also warned against any preemptive strikes by the new Republic of Korea (ROK) administration. His latest warnings come as the ROK and the United States move to ramp up joint military exercises, which have always infuriated the DPRK as Pyongyang considers them rehearsals for invasion. This week, the U.S. military held live-fire drills using its advanced Apache helicopters stationed in the ROK for the first time since 2019.
In southeast Asia, the former mayor of a Philippines city was killed during a shooting at a university graduation ceremony on Sunday. Rose Furigay, the former mayor of the southern Lamitan City, was attending her daughter's graduation at the law school of Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City when the shooting took place, leaving her and two others dead. Police say the killing appeared to be a targeted assassination of the former mayor.
The Manila Times reported that two people were injured, including Furigay's daughter, whose condition is stable, and added that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he was "shocked and saddened" by the killing.
The suspect was injured in a shootout and was taken into custody after a car chase, said Quezon City Police Chief Remus Medina who added that, "He looks like he was a determined assassin." Law enforcement officials reportedly recovered two pistols from him.
A screenshot of Japan Times' report about monkeys attacking people in Yamaguchi, Japan, July 25, 2022. /Japan Times
And, monkey trouble in Japan. On Monday, the Japan Times reported that local authorities in the city of Yamaguchi turned to tranquilizer guns to confront marauding monkeys that have injured 42 people in recent weeks. Japanese macaques are seen commonly across large parts of the country, and are pests in some areas, eating crops and entering homes. But a spate of monkey attacks in the city in western Japan has been unusual, with adults and children suffering wounds, including scratches and bites. Later in the week, one of the culprits was caught and killed, according to local officials.
Construction workers at an unfinished apartment complex near Silom Road in central Bangkok. /CFP
Thailand's plan to allow wealthy foreigners to own plots of land may exacerbate the excess of unsold flats in the capital Bangkok, as investors are likely to find landed property more appealing than units in high-rise buildings. The country's land department is drafting regulations that would grant full land ownership of one rai (roughly 0.16 hectares) for foreign nationals for residential use. The proposed scheme plans to attract affluent foreigners for lengthy stays, aiming to shore up the economy, which has been affected by the pandemic. It also offers attractive tax benefits and a 10-year visa.
However, South China Morning Post reports that "Thailand's real estate market has been struggling with an oversupply of flats in recent years. In the first half of this year alone more than 24,500 new units have been launched in Bangkok, taking the number of unsold units to 47,000, adding that supply is set to increase in the coming months."
China's self-developed solid carrier rocket Lijian-1. /China Media Group
And, China successfully launched its largest solid carrier rocket Lijian-1 on Wednesday afternoon, successfully sending six experimental scientific satellites into preset orbit. Developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lijian-1 lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
The six satellites will focus on technology verification and experiments on new space technologies, orbital atmospheric density detection, low-orbit quantum key distribution and electromagnetic assembly testing.
(Cover: DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, center, acknowledges participants during a ceremony to mark the 69th anniversary of the signing of the ceasefire armistice that ended the fighting in the Korean War, Pyongyang, July 27, 2022. /CFP)