Asia (except ME & Indian SC)

SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong Wednesday said the country will consider sanctions relief if the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) accepts dialogue offer.

Chung made the remark during a parliamentary audit of government offices, saying some actions should be rapidly taken to prevent the DPRK from developing nuclear and missile capabilities further.

He said sanctions relief can be considered for sure among ways to prevent the further development, on condition that the DPRK accepts the dialogue proposal.

BEIJING, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council have issued a master plan for the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle in southwest China.

The plan, made public Wednesday, aims to turn the Chengdu-Chongqing area into an economic circle with its own strengths and distinctive features, as well as a new driver and an important growth engine of the country's high-quality development, according to the document.

Beijing, Oct 20 (PTI) Jack Ma, China's billionaire and founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, has travelled to Europe for an agriculture study tour, his first trip abroad since he ran into trouble with the Chinese government last year over violating anti-monopoly regulations.

Before flying to Europe, Ma was in Hong Kong to spend low-key private time with his family, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, which is owned by him, reported on Wednesday.

TOKYO (AP) — A volcano in southern Japan erupted Wednesday with a massive column of gray smoke billowing into the sky.

The Japan Meteorological Agency raised the warning level for Mount Aso to three on a scale of five, warning hikers and residents to avoid the mountain.

NHK national television aired footage of a massive smoke column above the volcano.

The warning was issued for the city of Aso and two nearby towns in Kumamoto prefecture, which is in the north-central region of the southern island of Kyushu.

BEIJING (AP) — Asian stocks rose Wednesday after Wall Street advanced for a fifth day on strong corporate earnings.

Shanghai, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. Seoul declined.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index rose 0.7%, propelled by health care and tech stocks.

Asian markets took their “cue from extended gains on Wall Street following encouraging earnings results,” said Anderson Alves of ActivTrades in a report.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Wednesday that it had test-fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine, in its first such underwater test-launch in two years and one it says will bolster its military’s undersea capabilities.

The test Tuesday was the fifth round of missile launches since September and came as North Korea steps up pressure on Washington and Seoul to abandon what Pyongyang sees as hostile policies such as joint U.S.-South Korea military drills and international sanctions on the North.

TOKYO, Oct 19 (Reuters) - A group of 10 naval vessels from China and Russia sailed through a strait separating Japan's main island and its northern island of Hokkaido on Monday, the Japanese government said, adding that it is closely watching such activities.

It was the first time Japan has confirmed the passage of Chinese and Russian naval vessels sailing together through the Tsugaru Strait, which separates the Sea of Japan from the Pacific.

BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) will start the eighth trade policy review of China on Wednesday, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

The review would last three days until Friday and will be attended by Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen in Beijing via video link, and China's Ambassador to the WTO Li Chenggang in Geneva, the ministry said.

BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The World Trade Organization (WTO) will start the eighth trade policy review of China on Wednesday, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday.

The review would last three days until Friday and will be attended by Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen in Beijing via video link, and China's Ambassador to the WTO Li Chenggang in Geneva, the ministry said.

GWANGYANG, South Korea (AP) — Abandoned, he feels, by three countries, Cho Guk-gyeong shows a visitor his South Korean alien registration card, which describes him as “stateless.” It’s an apt description for what his life is like in South Korea, 15 years after he fled North Korea.