Top Asian News 4:58 a.m. GMT

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — The United States, Japan and South Korea have requested urgent diplomatic talks at the United Nations on Monday over North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch, with Seoul condemning what it called "serious military and security threats" and predicting more such tests. A spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations said Sunday night that the meeting is expected to take place Monday. The spokesman spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The U.N. Mission for Ukraine, which holds the rotating Security Council presidency, later confirmed that closed consultations on North Korea will take place late Monday afternoon.

The United States, Japan and South Korea have requested an urgent meeting of the U.N. Security Council on North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch. A spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations said Sunday night that the meeting is expected to take place Monday. The spokesman spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly. The North Korean missile is thought to have flown about 500 kilometers (310 miles) before going down in international waters. U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe learned about the launch while in Florida together. Abe called the move "absolutely intolerable," while Trump said his administration "stands behind Japan, its great ally, 100 percent."

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top White House official sidestepped repeated chances Sunday to publicly defend embattled national security adviser Michael Flynn, leaving the fate of one of President Donald Trump's senior aides uncertain following reports that he discussed U.S. sanctions with a Russian envoy before Trump's inauguration. The president, who spent the weekend at his private club in Florida, has yet to comment on Flynn's status. Nor has Vice President Mike Pence, who previously denied that Flynn had discussed sanctions with Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the U.S. Pence and Flynn spoke twice on Friday, according to an administration official.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors summoned Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong for questioning over bribery allegations again on Monday, less than a month after a Seoul court rejected their request for his arrest. Samsung is suspected of providing tens of millions of dollars in money and favors to President Park Geun-hye and her jailed friend Choi Soon-sil in exchange for government support of a merger deal between two Samsung affiliates in 2015. The merger helped Lee, the billionaire vice chairman of technology giant Samsung Electronics, promote a father-to-son transfer of leadership and wealth at the group. The bribery allegation surfaced as authorities expanded investigations into a political scandal that led to Park's parliamentary impeachment.

BANGKOK (AP) — A look at recent developments in the South China Sea, where China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves: ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a weekly look at the latest developments in the South China Sea, home to several territorial conflicts that have raised tensions in the region. ___ U.S., CHINESE SURVEILLANCE AIRCRAFT IN CLOSE ENCOUNTER NEAR SCARBOROUGH Unlike previous close encounters between U.S. and Chinese military aircraft, the latest incident last week near the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal appears to be unintentional, highlighting risks in an increasingly militarized region.

Tens of thousands of Indonesians gathered at the national mosque in the capital on Saturday for mass prayers urging people to vote for a Muslim governor of the city as the country prepares for regional elections this week. The crowds overflowed from Istiqlal Mosque in the heart of Jakarta into the surrounding streets. Clerics gave sermons calling on people to protect Islam and vote for Muslim candidates. In other images from the Asia-Pacific region last week, more than 650 pilot whales beached themselves at the tip of New Zealand's South Island in two separate mass strandings. About 350 whales died, including 20 that were euthanized.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Whale lovers in New Zealand finally got some good news on Sunday after more than 200 stranded whales managed to refloat themselves overnight and swim away, while volunteers managed to save another 17 whales at high tide. More than 650 pilot whales had beached themselves along Farewell Spit at the tip of the South Island in two separate mass strandings over recent days. About 350 whales have died, including 20 that were euthanized. Another 100 have been refloated by volunteers and more than 200 have swum away unassisted. Hundreds of volunteers from farmers to tourists have spent days at the beach dousing the whales with buckets of water to keep them cool and trying to refloat them.

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan officials and local residents said Sunday that 22 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed during a joint operation carried out by U.S. and Afghan forces last week in the southern Helmand province. The presidential envoy for security in Helmand, Jabar Qahraman, said the raid against Taliban insurgents in the Sangin district killed 13 people from one family and nine from another. "We are saddened to hear the news of civilians being killed," he said. "When the Taliban use civilians as their shield against security forces, such incidents occur." U.S. Navy Cpt. Bill Salvin, a military spokesman, said "we are working diligently to determine whether civilians were killed or injured as a result of U.S.

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police say gunmen opened fire on a TV crew in the southern port city of Karachi, killing one of them. Police officer Bashir Barohi says the crew was on its way to cover a hand grenade attack on a police patrol on Sunday when the gunmen attacked their vehicle. SAMAA TV says 22-year-old Tamour Khan, a satellite technician, was killed. Barohi says no one was wounded in the attack on the police patrol. No one has claimed either attack. Karachi is often the scene of political, ethnic and religious violence.

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A protester was killed and dozens of others wounded Sunday as government forces fired at demonstrators demanding an end to Indian rule in Kashmir following a gunbattle that killed four suspected rebels, two soldiers and a civilian, officials said. The gunbattle began after police and soldiers cordoned off the southern village of Frisal overnight following a tip that militants were hiding in a house, said police Inspector-General Syed Javaid Mujtaba Gillani. He said the militants sprayed automatic gunfire to break the cordon, leading to an exchange of gunfire with police and soldiers that killed four militants and two soldiers.