• North Korea warned that U.S. pressure could shatter any chance of denuclearization if Washington continues to escalate its sanctions and human rights campaign against Pyongyang. [The New York Times]

• A blast at a Japanese restaurant in Sapporo, on the northern island of Hokkaido, injured more than 40 people. [A.P.]

• A landmark genocide verdict against two former Khmer Rouge leaders has been thrown into question because one of their lawyers let his law license lapse. [The New York Times]

• In China, the case of a 12-year-old boy who was able to return to school five days after stabbing his mother to death has raised widespread questions about the country’s juvenile justice system. [The New York Times]

• Ukraine moved toward establishing its own Orthodox Church independent of Russia, electing a leader for a national church that will not answer to Moscow’s — a break in tradition expected to increase tensions with Russia. [The New York Times]

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