US to send more advanced weapons to South Korea

The two countries plan to increase their joint training and operational planning to counter North Korea. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following US to send more advanced weapons to South Korea [US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shakes hands with South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup after a joint press conference after their meeting at the Defense Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Jan. 31, 2023.] Credit: Jeon Heon-kyun/Pool Photo via AP US-South Korea US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced in Seoul on Tuesday that the United States will increase its [deployment of advanced weapons]( to South Korea. They’re meant to counter North Korea and include fighter jets and bombers. Austin is in talks with South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup. Washington and Seoul are increasing their joint training and operational planning, including a resumption of [live-fire demonstrations](. The two countries have also strengthened their security cooperation with Japan. Last year, North Korea test-fired dozens of missiles. IMF The International Monetary Fund says that the global economy is [poised for a rebound](. It pointed to resilient consumers and the reopening of China’s economy as some of the contributing factors. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom is the only country [expected to see its economy shrink]( and perform worse than other advanced nations, even Russia. The cost of living is one of the reasons that will cause the economy to contract by 0.6% in 2023. Denmark Denmark has announced it will [grant asylum to all Afghan women]( who apply for it, citing worsening conditions under the Taliban government. The Danish Refugee Appeals Board, Flygtningenævnet, said it’s changing its current practice for the decision, following a report by the EU’s Agency for Asylum that says new Taliban measures against women and girls “amount to persecution.” The Taliban have barred girls and women from [pursuing an education]( and from working with NGOs. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Wagner mercenary group recruits Africans held in Russian prisons]( [People sit in an office in the PMC Wagner Center, which is associated with businessman and founder of the Wagner private military group Yevgeny Prigozhin, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Nov. 4, 2022.]( Credit: Dmitri Lovetsky/AP In recent months, reports have emerged that at least two men, one from Zambia and another from Tanzania, were killed while [fighting for the Wagner group]( in Ukraine. Wagner reportedly recruited the men from Russian prisons, promising them amnesty. ['Ransomware Diaries:' Going undercover with the leader of LockBit]( [A person types on a laptop keyboard in North Andover, Massachusetts, June 19, 2017.]( Credit: Elise Amendola/AP/File photo Jon DiMaggio, chief security analyst at Analyst1, spent more than a year inside LockBit private channels interacting with LockBitSupp and other members. He recently released a report called "Ransomware Diaries: Volume 1," that revealed [how he infiltrated the group]( and what he learned while he was on the inside. --------------------------------------------------------------- Bright spot Humans and dolphins are working together to hunt fish in southern Brazil. 🐬 Scientists have, for the first time, used drones, underwater sound recordings and other tools to document how local people in the seaside city of Laguna and wild bottlenose dolphins [coordinate their actions]( to catch schools of mullet, in a tradition that goes back 150 years. [Fishers are positioned in line at the interaction site in Laguna, southern Brazil, waiting for bottlenose dolphins to approach, 2022.] Credit: Alexandre Machado/Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina via AP/Oregon State Univ. In case you missed it on The World --------------------------------------------------------------- Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX]( and [GBH](.