Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1000 GMT, July 14

Top South Korean policymaker in charge of inter-Korean relations said Tuesday that the country does not necessarily put the denuclearization of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as an absolute precondition for improved relations.

Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo told foreign correspondents in Seoul that the government's DPRK policy does "not necessarily" put top priority on the DPRK's abandonment of its nuclear development as a precondition for all inter-Korean relations.(S. Korea-Nuke)

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TOKYO -- More than 3,000 people were taken to hospital across Japan due to lingering high temperatures in one week time from July 6 to 12, with four of them dead, government data showed Tuesday.

The figure was up 6.5 times from 471 people in the previous week, and nearly half of the total number were aged 65 or older, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency.(Japan-Heat)

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MACAO -- Macao's Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the second quarter of 2015 made a 0.82 percent year-on-year gain to 134.61, the minimum increase in 12 years, which is also the fourth consecutive fall, according to figures released Tuesday by the city's Statistics and Census Service (DSEC).

Slight rise in the year-on-year figure of Macao's TPI in quarter two of 2015 attributable to rising charges for restaurant services and dearer prices of local food products.(Macao-TPI)

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KABUL -- Afghan Taliban militants have overrun the strategically important Qarae area in Almar district of Faryab province with Maimana as its capital, army spokesman in the province Mohammad Reza Razai said Tuesday.

Afghan vice president General Abdul Rashid Dostum, according to local media reports, has expressed concerns over Taliban presence in Faryab province, warning if Taliban advance is not checked in Faryab, they won't stop in other provinces.(Afghanistan-Taliban) Endi