SEOUL -- For the first time in 23 years, a new auto plant has begun operating in South Korea. The facility will be operated by Gwangju Global Motors (GGM), a newly established company led by the city government of Gwangju in the southwest. It was created with capital from Hyundai Motor and others, and will specialize in the contract manufacturing of small cars. Gwangju wants to attract industry and create jobs, and Hyundai was looking for a plant to which it could outsource production at low cost.

NEW YORK -- In their first virtual face-to-face summit, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping both confirmed that there is no change in their stance on Taiwan, but expressed concern that the other party may break the status quo.

BANGKOK/YANGON -- Myanmar will begin allowing international passenger flights as early as January 2022, Myanmar's Ministry of Information said Tuesday.

MANILA -- The daughter of President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said she will run for vice president in next year's elections together with presidential hopeful Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son and namesake of the late Philippine dictator.

SEOUL -- Kim Jong Un toured an urban development project as state media on Tuesday reported on a public appearance by the North Korean leader for the first time in more than a month.

ISTANBUL -- When the leaders of six Turkic states convened in Istanbul last week for a summit of the Turkic Council, they were adamant to seize the golden opportunity in front of them.

BEIJING -- The Chinese Communist Party dropped its long-standing ban on personality cults in a landmark resolution issued Tuesday, raising concerns that the elevation of President Xi Jinping as a revered leader could further erode the party's "collective leadership" arrangement.

TOKYO -- More than 250 Japanese corporations have pledged to attain net-zero greenhouse gas emissions or better in the future, according to a Nikkei survey, with more than half coming this year in conjunction with a major U.N. climate summit.

MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Russia said on Tuesday it had conducted a weapons test that targeted an old Russian satellite with "razor-sharp precision" and denied allegations by the United States, Britain and NATO that the test had been dangerous for orbiting spacecraft.

U.S. officials said Monday's test had generated a debris field in low-Earth orbit that endangered the International Space Station (ISS) and that would pose a hazard to space activities for years.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the test