Author: ANC News Desk

Credit: Wikimedia Commons / Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea Seoul is reportedly preparing to announce a roadmap for its nuclear-powered submarine program, turning what was once a long-running strategic aspiration into a more immediate policy question. Naval nuclear propulsion raises non-proliferation questions about fuel, safeguards, and nuclear latency. But treating Seoul’s […]

Credit: Depositphotos One year has passed since the four-day May 2025 crisis between India and Pakistan that ended following a U.S.-brokered ceasefire. The conflict, termed as “Marka-e-Haq” by Pakistan and “Operation Sindoor” by India, has accelerated a structural transformation in the South Asian warfare. The crisis demonstrated that future confrontations between the two nuclear armed […]

Credit: Photo provided by Steve Swerdlow It’s a trip Steve Swerdlow has made many times: flying from Los Angeles, California to Istanbul, Turkiye and onward to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Kyrgyzstan is a country Swerdlow knows well and loves deeply. He lived in Bishkek from 2012 to 2019 while working for Human Rights Watch and fully immersed […]

Credit: Photo by Natalia Gusakova on Unsplash Kazakhstan’s commercial banks are increasingly offering attractive super-applications with convenient functions that go beyond traditional financial services for the country’s 21 million citizens  With the help of a bank application, Kazakhstan’s citizens buy necessary goods, find required specialists, and even receive government services.  For security purposes, super-applications have […]

Credit: Wikimedia Commons/ Ulleungdont The Liancourt Rocks, known to Koreans as Dokdo, and to Japanese as Takeshima, are a pair of lonely, wind-swept volcanic islets in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. For decades, the territorial dispute between Seoul and Tokyo over these rocks played out through official statements and government posturing. But […]

The JS Mogami, first ship of the Mogami class, at sea on June 10, 2022. Credit: Japanese Defense Ministry In mid-April 2026, Taiwanese media reported that the Republic of China (ROC) Navy is evaluating Japan’s upgraded Mogami-class frigate, known in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force as the New FFM, as a candidate for its planned […]

Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro (left) meets with Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin after signing a new defense agreement in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 4, 2026. (X/Koizumi Shinjiro) Credit: X/Koizumi Shinjiro Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro visited Indonesia and the Philippines from May 3 to 6 to meet separately with Indonesian Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin […]

U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a welcome ceremony with President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, May 14, 2026. Credit: Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok The U.S.-China summit held in Beijing on May 14, 2026 has made it clear what […]

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung attend a summit meeting in Andong, South Korea, May 19, 2026. Credit: X/ Takaichi Sanae Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visited South Korea on May 19-20, meeting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Lee’s hometown of Andong. It was the first reciprocal summit […]

In this photo from North Korean state media, Kim Jong Un delivers an address at the first session of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly, Mar. 23, 2026. Credit: KCNA The North Korea-Russia relationship remains in a honeymoon phase, at least if the series of visits by Russian dignitaries to Pyongyang in late April is any […]