S Korea seeks talks with North to prevent accidental border clashes | East Asia Tonight Oct 22, 2026

Seoul is calling for talks as Pyongyang threatens fresh propaganda broadcasts and "countermeasures" along the border. Also on East Asia Tonight: Japan and South Korea bolster cybersecurity defences after flaws in widely used PHP programming language trigger hacking attempts. Also, an independent panel submits its final report, as the Hong Kong government prepares to take action against those responsible for the Tai Po fire that killed 168 people last November. 00:00 Headlines 01:46 Seoul stresses urgency of restoring dialogue with Pyongyang 14:33 South Korea's central bank pauses rate hikes amid AI chip boom 17:07 Micron announces quarterly bonus scheme for employees worldwide 20:11 DeepSeek raises nearly US$15b in latest fundraising round 22:28 Why is tech giant Tencent taking it slow in the AI race? 32:46 PHP flaws affecting 70% of the world's websites 43:32 China, Russia denounce "destructive external interference" in Eurasia 44:43 Independent committee submits final report on Wang Fuk Court blaze 50:53 Flights cancelled as Typhoon Champi nears Taiwan 52:17 China sees US$30b in losses from natural disasters in first nine months of 2026 53:04 Ancient Taoist teachings in China's Wudang Mountains 56:55 Shark in South Korea's Busan returns to canal after being coaxed out