Here are a few stories from around Asia you may have missed this week.
People stand outside the open gates of the Iranian embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 12, 2023. /Reuters
Iran's embassy in Saudi Arabia reopened its gates on Wednesday for the first time in seven years, Reuters reported, under a China-brokered deal to re-establish ties that could ease a long-standing rivalry that has helped fuel conflicts around the Middle East.
The two countries signed a joint statement in Beijing announcing the resumption of diplomatic relations on April 6, 2023.
A Beijing-based rocket company owned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), CAS Space, said it conducted successful vertical landing tests of a launch vehicle at sea in Haiyang, a county-level city in Yantai City, east China's Shandong Province.
A TV screen shows an image of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un (center) during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, Republic of Korea (ROK), April 14, 2023. /CFP
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) test-fired a new-type intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Hwasongpho-18, on Thursday local time, the Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday.
Kim Jong Un, the DPRK's top leader, "guided the first test-fire of the new-type ICBM on the spot," according to the report. "The aim of the test-fire was to confirm the performance of the high-thrust solid-fuel engines for multi-stage missiles and the reliability of the stage-jettisoning technology and various functional control systems and to estimate the military feasibility of the new strategic weapon system."
Traces of a large-scale wildfire remain on forests and buildings in Gangwon-do, ROK, April 12, 2023. /CFP
One person was killed and at least 16 were injured in ROK's eastern coastal city of Gangneung as strong winds and dry weather fanned a wildfire on Tuesday, officials said, but fears of a further spread eased as rain helped firefighters battle the blaze.
The fire consumed 170 hectares of land and prompted the evacuation in the city of more than 200,000 people, the Korea Forest Service said.
A busy street lined with billboards in Osaka, Japan, January 2023. /CFP
The Japanese government is set to approve a plan by Osaka to open what will be Japan's first casino resort in a few years, according to the government. The central government will hold a task force meeting as early as Friday, where Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and relevant ministers are expected to approve the Osaka plan.
The Japan Times reported that, "the development comes as travel restrictions introduced during the coronavirus pandemic are removed, leading some local governments to reassess the idea of attracting tourists to a so-called integrated resort, or IR, comprised of a large hotel, conference rooms and gambling areas."
(Cover: Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud (L) meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Beijing, April 6, 2023. /CFP)