Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 1600 GMT, Feb. 9

SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday met Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un, according to Yonhap news agency report.

Moon entered the main stadium in South Korea's eastern county of PyeongChang, where the opening ceremony of the 23rd Winter Olympics began at 8 p.m. local time (1100 GMT).

Moon met and shook hands with Kim who serves as the first vice director of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea of the DPRK. (S.Korea-DPRK-Meet)

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NEW DELHI -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday embarked on a historic visit to Palestine, the first-ever by an Indian head of government.

Experts say Modi's visit, which comes days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu visited India and more than six months after he visited Israel, clearly shows that New Delhi is firm on its foreign policy with Palestine and the two state solution, despite cosying up to the Jewish state. (India-Palestine-Israel)

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TOKYO -- Tokyo stocks closed sharply lower Friday as Wall Street's tumble overnight triggered another sell-off here on concerns of ongoing market volatility as the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield spiked.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 508.24 points, or 2.32 percent, from Thursday to close the day at 21,382.62, marking its lowest closing level since Oct. 18.

The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, meanwhile, lost 33.72 points, or 1.91 percent, to finish at 1,731.97. (Japan-Stocks-Tumble)

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VIENTIANE -- A Chinese-invested new dry-processing cement project has been put into operation in Vientiane province, Laos.

Vientiane Hongshi Saythirath Cement Co., Ltd held an ignition ceremony for the plant of 5,000 t/d on Thursday. (Laos-China-Project) Enditem