Russia’s Shoigu Meets North Korea’s Kim in Pyongyang 

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting of Russia's President with secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council in Saint Petersburg on September 12, 2024. (AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting of Russia's President with secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council in Saint Petersburg on September 12, 2024. (AFP)
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Russia’s Shoigu Meets North Korea’s Kim in Pyongyang 

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting of Russia's President with secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council in Saint Petersburg on September 12, 2024. (AFP)
In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu attends a meeting of Russia's President with secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council in Saint Petersburg on September 12, 2024. (AFP)

Top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu held talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a visit to Pyongyang on Friday, Russian news agencies said.

The visit took place at a critical juncture in the war in Ukraine, for which the United States says North Korea has supplied ammunition and ballistic missiles to Russia.

The US and its allies are weighing a decision on whether to let Ukraine use Western-supplied long-range missiles to strike deep inside Russia. President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that if that happened, the West would be fighting directly with Russia.

Moscow and Pyongyang have denied arms transfers but have vowed to boost military ties. Russia has deepened its relations with North Korea since the start of the Ukraine war, and Kim received Putin on a state visit in June.

Shoigu was Russian defense minister until May, and is now secretary of the Security Council which brings together Putin, his military and intelligence chiefs and other senior figures.

"As part of the ongoing strategic dialogue between our countries, a substantive exchange of views took place with Korean colleagues on a wide range of issues on the bilateral and international agenda," state news agency RIA quoted the Security Council as saying.

It said the meetings took place in an "exceptionally trusting, friendly atmosphere" and would make an important contribution to the implementation of agreements reached between Putin and Kim at their summit three months ago.



Florida Man Shot Israeli Visitors Thinking They Were Palestinians, Police Say

 Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mark 500 days of their captivity by spreading a massive Israeli flag depicting an hourglass in the Mediterranean Sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hebrew of the flag reads "Without the abductees, Israel runs out". (AP)
Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mark 500 days of their captivity by spreading a massive Israeli flag depicting an hourglass in the Mediterranean Sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hebrew of the flag reads "Without the abductees, Israel runs out". (AP)
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Florida Man Shot Israeli Visitors Thinking They Were Palestinians, Police Say

 Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mark 500 days of their captivity by spreading a massive Israeli flag depicting an hourglass in the Mediterranean Sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hebrew of the flag reads "Without the abductees, Israel runs out". (AP)
Relatives and supporters of Israelis held hostage by Hamas in Gaza mark 500 days of their captivity by spreading a massive Israeli flag depicting an hourglass in the Mediterranean Sea, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. Hebrew of the flag reads "Without the abductees, Israel runs out". (AP)

A Florida man was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder after shooting at a vehicle with two men who he thought were Palestinians but turned out to be Israeli visitors, local authorities and media reports said.

The website of Miami-Dade County Corrections says the suspect, 27-year-old Mordechai Brafman, was charged with two counts of attempted murder and booked on Sunday for the shooting on Saturday.

A police official confirmed earlier reports from local media that Brafman said in an interview with police that while he was driving his truck in Miami Beach, he saw two people he thought were Palestinian. He stopped, shot at and killed them.

However, the victims survived. One was shot in the shoulder and the other had a wounded forearm. They turned out to be Israeli visitors and not Palestinians, police said.

A representative or lawyer for Brafman could not be immediately identified by Reuters.

Human rights advocates say there has been a rise in anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian and antisemitic hate in the United States since the start of US ally Israel's war in Gaza following an Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian group Hamas.