Most Asian markets closed lower on Friday after North Korea threatened it could consider testing a nuclear weapon in the Pacific.
The Nikkei 225 index docked 51.03 points, or 0.3%, to 20,296.45. The U.S. dollar fell against the safe-haven Japanese currency after South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported a North Korean official said his country could consider testing a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific.
The yen jumped in a knee-jerk reaction, trading at 111.96 to the greenback from levels around 112.4 before the news.
The Hang Seng Index lost 229.8 points, or 0.8%, to 27,880.53
Also in central bank-related news, the Bank of Japan announced Thursday that it would keep its monetary policy steady.
Meanwhile, the Korean won fell to its lowest levels in a month in reaction to the headlines, trading as low as 1,139.50 to the U.S. dollar, compared with levels around 1,131 won in the last session. The won traded at 1,133.71 to the dollar late afternoon.
Geopolitical concerns over the Korean Peninsula have remained under the spotlight as the Trump administration has attempted to put more pressure on North Korea. President Donald Trump signed on Thursday a new measure that expanded the Treasury Department's authority to target people and institutions conducting business with the North.
In turn, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Friday that Trump would "pay dearly" for his speech at the United Nations earlier this week.
Several blue chip tech names held onto early gains, but traded off session highs following North Korea headlines. Samsung Electronics closed up 0.4% and SK Hynix was flat, while Posco fell 3.2%
In corporate news, HTC stock climbed 10% by the end of the session after resuming trade a day after Google announced a $1.1-billion agreement with the Taiwanese company. HTC shares had been suspended from trade on Thursday, prior to the announcement.
Australian indexes were up slightly, with the heavily-weighted financials sub-index climbing 0.9% by the end of the trading day.
CHINA
The CSI 300 moved down 0.09 points to 3,837.73
Mainland-listed bank stocks finished the session higher: ICBC rose 0.7%, Agricultural Bank of China gained 0.8% and Bank of China tacked on 0.7%, but the banks' Hong Kong-listed shares traded lower.
Greater China markets were lower after S&P downgraded China's sovereign credit rating to A+ from AA-, citing the mainland's credit growth as a risk. The downgrade from S&P put its rating in line with Moody's and Fitch.
Chinese banks were also on the radar after the People's Bank of China reportedly informed them to adhere to United Nations sanctions against North Korea
In other markets
In Taiwan, the Taiex index tumbled 128.76 points, or 1.2%, to 10,449.68
In Korea, the Kospi index doffed 17.79 points, or 0.7%, to 2,388.71
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index regrouped 6.43 points, or 0.2%, to 3,220.25
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 19.36 points, or 0.3%, to 7,814.78
In Australia, the ASX 200 regained 26.72 points, or 0.5% to 5,682.14
