South Korea welcomes visit by North Korean leader’s sister for Winter Olympics

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.

The skateboarding tricks that made Rayssa Leal the youngest Olympic medalist in Brazil's history push girls from early childhood to teenagers onto the country's slopes, where until recently they were the exception.

People in Beijing share their views after a decision announced by the International Olympic Committee that next year's Winter Olympics in the city will be held without fans from overseas. "I think this measure is for the safety concerns and is acceptable," says a pedestrian at Beijing Olympic Park.

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.

Chinese and foreign figure skaters train ahead of the 2021 CS Asian Open Figure Skating Trophy, which will be held in Beijing this week as a test event for the 2022 Winter Olympics. All journalists and Winter Olympics staff are required to wear masks inside the stadium as Covid-19 prevention measures.

Human rights activists on Monday (October 19) urged governments and athletes world-wide to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in China as Athens prepared to hand over the Olympic flame to Beijing in a ceremony in the capital, saying that anything less would make the world complicit in what they called 'genocide' by Beijing. China's treatment of minorities has come under increased scrutiny in the run-up to the games, scheduled from Feb. 4-20. Activists protested at Ancient Olympia on Monday, where the flame lighting ceremony was held.

South Korea has launched its first domestically developed space rocket but failed to put its dummy payload into orbit, a setback in the country's attempts to join the ranks of advanced space-faring nations.

Tens of thousands of people in northern China have been placed under strict lockdown as officials seek to keep a lid on a growing COVID outbreak ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Nearly 70 years after the conflict ended in stalemate, Seoul is pushing hard for a declaration that will formally end the Korean War. But Washington is reluctant to reward the regime in Pyongyang.

An official Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic venue held a test ice hockey match on Monday (November 8), with the Games just months away. The match, which was held without spectators and featured local teams Beijing Arcfox and Beijing Shougang, comes amid uncertainty over the participation status of China's men's national hockey team in next year's Games. China is guaranteed a spot in the ice hockey tournament due to its status as host nation, but International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) president Luc Tardif said in September that the men's team could be prevented from playing due to its "insufficient sporting standard".

With four months to go until election day, the two top candidates for the presidency are already at the center of allegations of corruption and abuse of power, with debate over policy relegated to the background.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the incursion off its east coast lasted roughly 10 minutes. Beijing later said the warplanes entering South Korea's air defense identification zone was part of an exercise.