PICTURED: Editor selections from the past week in Asia

Former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said last week that he would announce soon whether he will run for South Korea's presidency, as he returned home and strongly hinted at his political ambitions before hundreds of cheering supporters. Ban's return will likely heat up local politics as he's considered the only major conservative contender in a possible early election to replace impeached President Park Geun-hye.

In other images from the Asia-Pacific region last week, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Vietnam during his last trip as the top U.S. diplomat. Kerry, a Vietnam War veteran, toured the mekong delta tour vietnam Delta region, where he fought almost 50 years ago. He also praised relations with his former foes, though he urged greater respect for human rights in Vietnam.

Hong Kong's No. 2 government official said she was resigning to prepare for a leadership bid for the southern Chinese city's top job. Chief Secretary Carrie Lam said she tendered her resignation to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and asked him to submit it to Beijing for approval.

In this Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017 photo, anglers throw lines on a river during a trout catching contest in Hwacheon, South Korea. The contest is part of an annual ice festival which draws over 1,000,000 visitors every year. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

People throughout Asia are preparing for the upcoming Lunar New Year. Officials expect that Chinese travelers will make almost 3 billion trips during the holiday travel rush that runs through Feb. 21. Those trips include intercity flights, trains and local bus rides to villages for China's 1.4 billion people.

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This gallery was curated by Associated Press photo editor Wally Santana in Bangkok.

In this Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017 photo, former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, center, waves upon his arrival at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea. Ban said Thursday he'll soon announce whether to run for South Korea's top job as he returned home and strongly hinted at his political ambitions before hundreds of cheering supporters. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

In this Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 photo, an employee smokes at the window of a high-rise building in a Tokyo's business area. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, File)

In this Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 photo, a worker arranges large incense sticks to be sold for the preparation of the Lunar New Year in Tangerang, Indonesia. Ethnic Chinese communities in the world's most populous Muslim country are preparing to celebrate the start of the year of the rooster. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana, File)

In this Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 photo, residents of a community in suburban Navotas sift through the smoldering debris following an early morning fire, in northern suburb of Manila, Philippines. Fire officials said the fire razed more than 600 shanty homes leaving more than 1,500 families homeless. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)

In this Sunday, Jan. 8, 2017 photo, young drummers stick out their heads among drums while preparing for the performance of "A Flourish of Hundreds Drums" in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In the event, a total of 388 drummers performed the 24 Festive Drums, a popular performance in Malaysia in which groups of drummers beat 24 drums that represent 24 solar terms in the lunar calendar. The drumming, part of the Malaysian Chinese culture, has its origins in the drums performed in harvest festivals in China. Chinese letters on drums read: "Limit of heat," right, marked on around August 29, and "Rainwater," left, marked on around February 19. (AP Photo/Lim Huey Teng, File)

In this Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017 photo, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, left, shakes hands with Vo Van Tam, 70, right, who was a member of the former Viet Cong guerrilla, who took part in the attack on Kerry's Swift Boat in Feb. 28, 1969, while on a tour of the region in the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam. Kerry once patrolled these waters on a U.S. naval gunboat and received the Silver Star for his actions. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool, File)

In this Friday, Jan. 13, 2017 photo, a North Korean is framed by tree branches as he man cycles along the Taedong River bank, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

In this Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017 photo, a worker smokes dried fish for sale in a slum community on the coastal area of northern Jakarta, Indonesia. About 80 percent of the 3.6 billion people in developing Asian countries still live on less than $5 a day, many relying on day labor or other meager livelihoods. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim, File)

In this Friday, Jan. 13, 2017 photo, workers unload bricks at a brick-making factory in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. As bricks continue to be used in construction throughout Myanmar, traditional craftsmen who produce hand-made bricks are facing competition from machine-made bricks which are produced more efficiently. (AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo, File)

In this Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017 photo, Hong Kong's Chief Secretary Carrie Lam arrives at a press conference at the government headquarters to announce her resignation in Hong Kong. The No. 2 government official who announced her resignation, and Hong Kong's Financial Secretary John Tsang, who resigned last month, are widely expected to mount leadership bids for the job of Hong Kong's top leader after current Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said he would not go for a second term. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

In this Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017 photo, a man walks past an open design feature of a building at Shinjuku district in Tokyo. Shinjuku is one of Tokyo's major commercial centers that houses Tokyo's Metropolitan Government building and the National Stadium that will be the main venue for the 2020 Summer Olympic games. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, File)

In this Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017 photo, a cyclist passes a row of Buddha statues in Bangkok, Thailand. Buddhism is the predominant religion in the country. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)

In this Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017 photo, a Cambodian vendor, left, heads to buy fish at Muslim fishermen's floating village of the Mekong River bank near Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cambodian people buy fish to make pickled fish for the upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)