This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Alex Ritson and in the early hours of Thursday, the 27th of April, these are our main stories.

The US and South Korea agree to cooperate on nuclear policy to try to thwart North Korea's

progress towards an atomic bomb. A first direct phone call between President Xi of China and

Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky since Russia's invasion. And the UN's envoy to Haiti says violence

is expanding at an alarming rate in areas previously considered safe.

Also in this podcast, the US government indicates it won't step in to save the latest

struggling financial institution, first Republic Bank. And a whopping $69 billion

doesn't convince UK regulators.

Their objections could scu'dscu'dp at the biggest ever takeover in the world of video gaming.

The United States and South Korea have again bonded over the nuclear threat from North Korea,

a state visit by the South Korean President Yun Suk-yul saw the joint announcement of an

agreement called the Washington Declaration, allowing Seoul a say in America's nuclear planning.

At the same time, a US nuclear armed submarine will dock in South Korea for the first time in 40 years.

A meeting between President Biden and Mr. Yun took place in the Oval Office, followed by a news

conference. Here's Mr. Biden.

Our mutual defense treaty is ironclad, and that includes our commitment to extended deterrence,

and that includes the nuclear threat and the nuclear deterrent.

There are particularly important in the face of DPRK's increased threats in a blatant

violation of US sanctions. At the same time, we continue to seek serious and substantial

diplomatic breakthroughs with the DPRK, the bolster stability on the peninsula.

I got more on that agreement from Barbara Platt-Asher in Washington.

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