Ousted S. Korean leader Park arrives at court to face trial

The US secretaries of state and defense are in Seoul for talks on regional security. North Korea's nuclear ambitions will be high on the agenda, as will China's growing territorial assertiveness.

From a converted storeroom on the roof of his mother's Seoul apartment, Kim Min-kyo plays video games for up to 15 hours a day -- and makes a fortune from the thousands of fans watching him. Livestreamers, known as "Broadcast Jockeys" or BJs in South Korea, are hard-wired to the digital infrastructure of youth culture. They entertain for hours with an interactive mishmash of chat, gaming, dance, music, eating, getting drunk or even just sleeping. Top livestreamers enjoy subculture celebrity among teens and 20-somethings, who consider them more relatable than traditional media stars.

A worsening relationship between North and South Korea is not the only hurdle the rivals will need to overcome to win the bid, which aims to promote "world peace through sports."

The Japanese government has approved a controversial plan to release radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean. South Korea expressed 'strong regret' over the decision.

Resource-poor South Korea wants to spend billions on wind power to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but its plans are being delayed by fishermen who say the fight against climate change threatens their catches.

US President Joe Biden has said he's "under no illusions" about the difficulty of getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

Seoul has threatened to boycott the Tokyo Olympic Games over an ongoing territorial dispute. South Korea filed a complaint after the release of a map marking remote islands between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea is boosting efforts to recycle plastics in the country. At special centres, used PET bottles are recycled and transformed into products such as clothes, food containers, and cosmetic bottles.

Gym-goers work out in Seoul, where Covid restrictions have been brought in that include banning upbeat songs during group exercises and applying a speed limit on treadmills in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19.

As the US and other countries withdraw development staff and aid, China's regional rivals are watching whether Beijing can extend its sphere of influence by building ties with a new Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

South Korea's ministry of defence releases footage of a successful a submarine ballistic missile launch, making the country the seventh in the world with the advanced technology and raising the prospect of a regional arms race. The test, supervised by President Moon Jae-in, comes hours after nuclear-armed North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea, according to the South's military, and as China's foreign minister visited Seoul.

Pyongyang last cut off the hotline in August after joint US-South Korea military drills. The move comes amid a series of weapons tests by the North.