Tags: United Nations

South Korean President Park Geun-hye demanded on Monday that North Korea apologize over recent landmine blasts, even as the bitter rivals held marathon talks to defuse tensions that have brought the peninsula back to the brink of armed conflict.

Japan on Saturday lodged a protest over Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's visit to one of four disputed Pacific islands which have strained ties between the two countries since the end of World War Two.

Britain reopened its embassy in Tehran on Sunday, a striking signal of how Western ties with Iran have thawed since protesters ransacked the ambassador's residence and burned the Union Jack nearly four years ago.