Friday: #MeToo in North Korea

Saudi Arabia, Warming Oceans, Jho Low View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Friday, November 2, 2018 [NYTimes.com »]( ADVERTISEMENT Asia Edition [Your Friday Briefing]( By ALISHA HARIDASANI GUPTA Good morning. A dark side of trade in North Korea, the rising temperature of the world’s oceans, an exhibition of disgusting foods. Here’s what you need to know: How Hwee Young/EPA-EFE, via Shutterstock • #MeToo in North Korea. Since 2011, Kim Jong-un has eased restrictions on markets in North Korea, creating a growing class of traders and entrepreneurs. Above, a woman at a silk factory in Pyongyang. But the economic activity has a dark side: the sexual harassment and rape of the mostly female traders by market police and other officials, according to a [new Human Rights Watch report]( based on interviews with dozens of female defectors. For traders, resisting such exploitation could mean losing their main source of income and jeopardizing their families’ survival. “They consider us toys,” said one former female trader who escaped to South Korea. → In South Korea: The Supreme Court [acquitted a man]( who refused mandatory service in the military because of his religious beliefs, a ruling expected to have an impact on the hundreds of conscientious objectors sent to prison each year. _____ Reuters • The U.S. stands by the Saudi crown prince. The Trump administration has [decided to stand by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman]( after the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, according to officials familiar with the deliberations, having concluded that he’s almost certain to stay in power. After all, the 33-year-old, above, could rule Saudi Arabia for the next half century. But since the prince has been weakened by the scandal, the White House and other countries in the region have turned to thinking about how to best leverage his vulnerability to their benefit. The U.S. is considering sanctions against the kingdom that would be limited enough to avoid a rupture with Prince Mohammed. In exchange, the White House is hoping to negotiate an end to the blockade of Qatar and the [Saudi-led bombing of Yemen](. → In Indonesia: The government protested [Saudi Arabia’s execution of an Indonesian citizen]( without notice. The woman, a maid, was convicted seven years ago of murdering her Saudi employer; a rights group has said she was defending herself from sexual assault. _____ Pablo Gorondi/Associated Press • How George Soros become a villain to the right. For years, a loose international network of conservative activists used conspiracy theories and barely concealed anti-Semitism to cast the billionaire investor, Democratic donor and Holocaust survivor as the personification of everything they hate. Those [falsehoods are no longer restricted to the dark corners]( of the internet. The increasingly authoritarian government of Hungary, where Mr. Soros was born, has cracked down on a university he founded. Above, an anti-Soros ad there. Politicians in formerly communist countries like Russia demonize him. In the U.S. he was a target in a recent wave of pipe bombs and has been falsely accused of trying to buy elections. [President Trump has even suggested]( that funded the caravan of Central American migrants headed toward the border. Of note: Mr. Trump’s inflammatory language, especially on race and gender, appears to be [alienating wealthier white, educated Republican voters]( crucial to keeping the party’s majority in the House. _____ The Ocean Agency/XL Catlin Seaview Survey, via Associated Press • How do you take the ocean’s temperature? There’s no punch line — only bad news. Climate change is rapidly warming the world’s oceans, killing off crucial aquatic organisms and causing sea levels to rise. A [new study in the journal Nature]( based on a novel approach to estimating ocean temperatures, found the warming much more rapid than previously thought. In the U.S. elections: While Americans remain politically divided over climate change, there’s actually broader consensus around some of the solutions. Here’s [a visual representation](. _____ Business Atul Loke for The New York Times • India and the U.S. face deadlines on several trade disputes. But President Trump seems most concerned about tariffs on a few hundred high-end [Harley-Davidson motorcycles](. • Fujian Jinhua, a Chinese state-owned company, and its Taiwanese partner were [charged by the U.S.]( with trying to steal trade secrets from an American technology company. • The Malaysian financier Jho Low and two Goldman Sachs investment bankers were also [charged by U.S. prosecutors]( in a vast fraud scheme involving the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. • Few can imagine Facebook without Mark Zuckerberg. That underscores how unaccountable large tech companies have become, [our columnist writes](. • Google employees around the world, starting in Asia and spreading through Europe and the U.S., [walked out to protest]( how the company handled sexual harassment allegations, following [a Times investigation](. • U.S. stocks [were up]( and Apple [beat Wall Street estimates]( in its last quarter. Here’s a snapshot of [global markets](. In the News Ulet Ifansasti/Getty Images • Indonesian Navy divers found one of the black boxes from Lion Air Flight 610, raising hopes that investigators will be able to explain the crash. [[The New York Times]( • The last bookstore in Hong Kong selling titles banned by the Communist Party closed, underscoring China’s increased pressure on the city. [[The Guardian]( • Scientists announced a major step toward creating a universal vaccine for many strains of flu, which takes as many as 646,000 lives worldwide every year. [[The New York Times]( • A 5-year-old with a 15-page résumé: A Chinese boy’s over-the-top application for a spot at a Shanghai private school captivated social media after it was leaked. [[The New York Times]( • In Opinion: A psychiatrist, Dr. Richard Friedman, explains the neuroscience of hate speech. [[The New York Times]( Smarter Living Tips for a more fulfilling life.  • Tired of holiday clichés? [Create a table setting]( that will surprise and delight your guests. • One thing you can do to help the environment? [Vote](. • Recipe of the day: Tonight, cook [chickpeas and broccoli rabe]( until creamy and luxurious. Noteworthy Tristan Spinski for The New York Times • As the Harvard affirmative action lawsuit plays out, we talked to five freshmen at the college — including one legacy student, one on full financial aid and one Korean-American — and asked them to [reflect on why they got in](. • One person’s “disgusting” is another person’s delicacy. That notion underpins [a new touring exhibition]( of polarizing foods, like Australian vegemite to Chinese mouse wine. • It’s not all bad news out there. This week’s [uplifting stories]( include tiny free libraries, rooftop gardens and a dazzling duck. Back Story Matt Roberts/Getty Images The Meiji Jingu Shrine, where Princess Ayako of Japan [married her commoner beau]( earlier this week, is also a fitting symbol for Tokyo and its wonderful contradictions. While it appears ancient, the shrine, pictured above, is [actually relatively new](. It opened in the 1920s to commemorate Princess Ayako’s great-great-grandparents, Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. It was during their era that Japan opened up to the West. But Japan also embraced traditional culture by officially cultivating the distinctive Shinto religion. Today, Meiji Jingu is a forested refuge just steps away from Tokyo’s hipster shopping district Harajuku. And the shrine has become one of the city’s [most desired locations for weddings](. When this reporter’s good friend and college classmate got married there several years ago, guests gushed over her elaborate kimono and the beautiful red sake bowls and the priests and priestesses that made the ceremony oh-so-Japanese. She wasn’t alone. More and more couples are opting for this kind of traditional ceremony, according to local media reports. But then again, the white wedding kimono that she wore was in a style thought to have been adopted from Western wedding gowns. It goes to show the complex weaving together of old and new, of tradition and adopted tradition, in a city that’s constantly changing. Hiroko Tabuchi, a former Tokyo correspondent now on our climate team, wrote today’s Back Story. _____ This briefing was prepared for the Asian morning. You can also [sign up]( to get the briefing in the Australian, European or American morning. [Sign up here]( to receive an Evening Briefing on U.S. weeknights. Browse our full range of Times newsletters [here](. What would you like to see here? Contact us at [asiabriefing@nytimes.com](mailto:asiabriefing@nytimes.com?subject=Briefing%20Feedback%20(Asia)). LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. FOLLOW NYTimes [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytimes]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Morning Briefing: Asia Edition newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018