Senior diplomats of South Korea and the United States have agreed to work together to strengthen their countries' alliance and trilateral cooperation with Japan during their talks in Washington, according to the South Korean Embassy in the US capital.

South Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Cho Hyun-dong met with new Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker at the State Department to discuss the bilateral alliance and a range of regional and global issues, the embassy said.

Confirmed by the Senate earlier this month, Hooker is noted for her longtime experience in diplomacy with North Korea, including preparations for U.S. President Donald Trump's summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his first term, reports news agency.

"Sharing the understanding on the importance of close cooperation between South Korea and the U.S. over North Korean issues, and of comprehensive bilateral cooperation, the two sides agreed to continue efforts to strengthen the Seoul-Washington alliance and enhance trilateral cooperation with Japan," the embassy wrote on Facebook.

Russia and Ukraine carried out another prisoner swap on Friday, said the Russian defence ministry.

In accordance with the Russian-Ukrainian agreements on June 2 in Istanbul, a group of Russian military personnel was returned from the territory controlled by Ukraine on June 20, the ministry said, not giving the number of released prisoners.

"In return, a group of prisoners of war of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was transferred," it added.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Friday that it had killed a senior commander of the Palestinian militant group Mujahideen Brigades in central Gaza.

The IDF added that the commander, Ali Saadi Wasfi al-Agha, served as the military commander of the group's southern Gaza brigades, and was slated to replace the head of the group, Assad Abu Sharia, who was killed by the IDF and Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency earlier this month.

More than 20 people have died following a collapse Thursday at a coltan mine in Rubaya, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), local sources said Friday.

At least 21 bodies have been recovered so far from the mine, located in the Masisi territory of North Kivu Province, according to the Masisi administrator's office.

Around 100 people have also been rescued during the ongoing operation.

A South Korea's Seoul court said on Friday that it will hold a hearing next week to determine whether to extend the arrest of former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun over his alleged role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law.

The Seoul Central District Court said the hearing will be held at 2:30 pm Monday before deciding whether to issue a new arrest warrant for Kim, who has been in custody since December and standing trial on charges of insurrection in connection with the martial law attempt, news agency reported.

A new warrant was requested by independent counsel Cho Eun-suk earlier this week as the current six-month detention period for Kim is set to expire next Thursday, granting him unconditional release.

As the same charges cannot be used to justify continued detention, Cho said he has indicted Kim on new charges of obstruction of official duties and abetting the destruction of evidence.

The Russian Defence Ministry on Friday stated that its air defences shot down 61 Ukrainian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) over several Russian regions overnight.

“On-duty air defences intercepted and destroyed 61 Ukrainian fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles between 8 pm and 7 am. Moscow time, 22 over the Oryol Region, 14 over the Kursk Region, seven over the Belgorod Region, five over the Voronezh Region, three over the Volgograd Region, three over the Rostov Region, three over the Tula Region, three over the Bryansk Region and one over the Moscow Region,” read the statement.

The Voronezh Region Governor, Alexander Gusev mentioned on Telegram that the drones had been destroyed over the city of Voronezh and on the region’s border, adding that there were no casualties or damage as per the preliminary reports.

Bryansk Region Governor Alexander Bogomaz stated that there were no casualties or damage in the region. “Response teams are working on the ground,” Bogomaz wrote on Telegram.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is not expected to visit Russia in the near future, a Russian news agency reported, citing a Kremlin spokesperson on Friday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded "No" when asked by reporters whether Kim would visit Russia soon, including during the Eastern Economic Forum, scheduled for September in Vladivostok near the border with North Korea, Ria Novosti reported.

As North Korea and Russia marked the first anniversary this month of the signing of a mutual defence treaty between Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin, speculation has emerged that the North Korean leader may travel to Russia for a summit with Putin.

While visiting Pyongyang for the signing last year, Putin extended an invitation to Kim to visit Russia for talks.

Russia's annual Eastern Economic Forum, slated for September 3-6, has been speculated on as a possible occasion for Kim's trip to Russia and a summit with Putin.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Friday announced that it had carried out a series of overnight airstrikes in Tehran, targeting dozens of sites linked to Iran’s missile and nuclear weapons programs. Among the key targets were military industrial facilities used for missile production and the headquarters of Iran’s Organisation of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND).

“More than 60 Air Force fighter jets attacked dozens of military targets in Iran overnight (Thursday) with precise intelligence guidance from the Intelligence Branch using approximately 120 munitions. During the night, several missile manufacturing industrial sites in the Tehran area of Iran were attacked,” the IDF said in a post on X.

“These sites were built over years and were the industrial center of gravity of the Iranian Ministry of Defense. Among the sites attacked were military industrial sites for the production of missile components and sites for the production of raw materials used for casting rocket engines,” the post added.

South Korea's key stock index breached the 3,000-point mark for the first time in more than three years on early Friday morning, driven by gains in big-cap tech shares.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) had risen 31.84 points, or 1.07 percent, to 3,009.58 as of 11:15 a.m. It marked the first time the KOSPI hit the 3,000-point threshold since Jan. 3, 2022, reports news agency.

KOSPI surpassed the mark for the first time ever in its history on January 6, 2021.

Tech behemoth Samsung Electronics gained 0.84 percent, while its chipmaking rival SK hynix jumped 3.25 percent.

South Korea posted a record current account surplus with the United States last year, driven by strong exports of semiconductors, while it recorded a current account deficit with China, central bank data showed on Friday.

South Korea's current account surplus with the US totalled an all-time high of $118.23 billion in 2024, widening from a $87.76 billion surplus the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK), reports news agency.

"The increase was attributable to rising exports of semiconductors and information and communication technology equipment, while the primary income account surplus also expanded due to higher dividend income," the BOK said in a release.

But South Korea reported a current account deficit of $29.04 billion with China in 2024, though the figure narrowed slightly from a $29.25 billion deficit the year before.