South Korea demands apology as talks drag on with North over tensions

Seoul, South Korea (CNN)South Korean President Park-geun hye said Monday that she’s still waiting for an apology from North Korea as marathon talks between the two sides over a recent spike in military tensions spilled into a third day.

Park said that she wants Pyongyang to apologize for recent provocations, including landmine blasts that badly wounded two South Korean soldiers earlier this month.

“This is a matter of national security and safety of our people,” she said. “This not a matter where we can back down, even if North Korea maximizes its provocations and threatens security like it did in the past.”The mines, which exploded in the Demilitarized Zone that separates the two countries, set off an antagonistic spiral. South Korea, a key U.S. ally, responded by resuming propaganda broadcasts over the border for the first time in more than a decade, a move that infuriated Kim Jong Un’s regime.

North Korea fired shells over the DMZ on Thursday, apparently aimed at the loudspeakers blaring the messages, setting off a brief exchange of fire.

Pyongyang also set a deadline of Saturday evening for Seoul to turn the speakers off or face military action.