Top Asian News 3:46 a.m. GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Lee Soo-nam was 8 the last time he saw his older brother. Sixty-eight years ago this month the boy watched, bewildered, as his 19-year-old brother left their home in Seoul to escape invading North Korean soldiers who were conscripting young men just weeks after invading South Korea to start the Korean War. An hour later his brother, Ri Jong Song, was snatched up by North Korean soldiers near a bridge across Seoul's Han River. Lee always assumed Ri died during the three-year war that killed and injured millions before a cease-fire in 1953, but his mother prayed daily for her lost son's return, only giving up a few years before her death in 1975.

TRIVANDRUM, India (AP) — Thousands of stranded people were waiting to be rescued and officials pleaded for more help from relentless monsoon floods that have partially submerged the southern Indian state of Kerala, where more than 190 have died in a little over a week. Heavy rains hit parts of the state again Saturday morning, slowing attempts to deploy rescuers and get relief supplies to isolated areas. Many have seen no help for days and can only be reached by boat or helicopter. More than 300,000 people have taken shelter in over 1,500 state-run relief camps, officials said. But authorities said they were being inundated with calls for assistance, local media reported.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — First it was the athletes parading side-by-side in matching uniforms behind the "unification" flag carried by South Korean basketballer Lim Yung-hui and North Korean footballer Ju Kyong Chol. Then it was an image of South Korea's Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and North Korean Deputy Prime Minister Ri Ryong Nam hand-in-hand with their arms raised high that grabbed the spotlight at a spectacular opening ceremony for the Asian Games on Saturday night. The two countries, still technically at war after their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, have fielded 60 athletes in combined teams in three sports — including women's basketball — along with larger contingents for their respective national squads at the 18th Asian Games.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A deep, undersea earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 8.2 has struck Fiji and small tsunami waves have been observed but no damage reported. The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake hit at a depth of 560 kilometers (348 miles) and was located 280 kilometers (174 miles) northeast of Fiji's Ndoi Island. No casualties are expected based on initial readings. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says small tsunami waves have been observed.

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan's cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan was sworn in as prime minister on Saturday despite protests by opposition parties, which accuse the security services of intervening on his behalf in last month's elections. Khan' s Tehreek-e-Insaf party won the most seats in the July 25 national elections but fell short of an outright majority. It allied with independents to form a coalition, and Khan was elected by the National Assembly on Friday. Khan had campaigned on promises to combat Pakistan's endemic corruption and break powerful landowners' monopoly on political power. Opposition parties have held regular protests since last month's election, alleging vote rigging by the powerful security establishment.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan is responding to China's arms buildup by developing missiles and interceptors of its own that could reduce Beijing's military advantage over the self-ruled island, defense experts say. Since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, Taiwan has deployed one set of missiles, perfected another and sped production of a third, the analysts say, in the latest sign of how it's handling a Chinese military threat that is raising the chances of an armed confrontation. Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken a hard line against advocates of independence for Taiwan and has sent warships, bombers and fighter planes on training missions circling the democratic island in a show of strength.

BEIJING (AP) — Malaysia's leader courted Chinese e-commerce investment in his country on Saturday, the start of his first trip to China since his stunning electoral victory three months ago. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's visit to the world's second-largest economy is being watched for signs on the fate of multibillion-dollar Beijing-backed projects he's said he wants to cancel. On Saturday, Mahathir toured the campus of Chinese online shopping giant Alibaba Group in the eastern city of Hangzhou, met with the company's founder, Jack Ma, and told the company's executives that Malaysia wants to explore ways to collaborate further with Alibaba, according to Malaysian state news agency Bernama.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States intensified its sanctions against Myanmar on Friday, blacklisting four commanders and two units of security forces for their alleged role in violent campaigns against Rohingya Muslims and other ethnic minorities. Myanmar security forces have engaged in ethnic cleansing, massacres, sexual assault, extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses, said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Department undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "Treasury is sanctioning units and leaders overseeing this horrific behavior as part of a broader U.S. government strategy to hold accountable those responsible for such wide-scale human suffering." The Trump administration earlier imposed sanctions on the chief of Myanmar's western military command, but has faced pressure from human rights groups and lawmakers to impose more sanctions on those involved in a crackdown that began in August 2017 in western Rakhine State where a brutal military operation in response to attacks on security forces sent 700,000 Rohingya fleeing to neighboring Bangladesh.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — The United States said it was deeply concerned over Vietnam's conviction and sentencing of an activist this week, calling the trend of increased arrests and harsh sentences of government critics "troubling." A State Department statement Friday also called on the communist government to release all political prisoners and allow all individuals to express their views freely and assemble peacefully without fear of retribution. Le Dinh Luong was sentenced to 20 years in prison and five years' probation on Thursday after being convicted of attempting to overthrow the government. The State Department called the charge "vague" and urged the government to ensure its actions and laws, including the Penal Code, are consistent with the human rights provisions of Vietnam's Constitution and its international obligations and commitments.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Sun Peiyuan has won the first gold medal awarded at the 18th Asian Games, winning wushu's changquan discipline ahead of local hope Edgar Marvelo. The changquan competition started at 9 a.m. local time Sunday and was all over within an hour, with Sun scoring 9.75 to claim a gold medal in the same city where he won the world title in 2015. Marvelo, who was inspired to take up wushu after watching movies starring Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee, gave host country Indonesia a silver with at 9.72 and Tsai Tse-min of Taiwan picked up bronze.