South Korea sets snap presidential election for June 3, drawing out contenders

SEOUL: North Korea’s newly unveiled warship could have involved Russian help, South Korea’s military said on Thursday while cautioning it was still conducting “a more detailed analysis.”
Pyongyang recently unveiled a 5,000-ton destroyer-class vessel named Choe Hyon that some analysts said could be equipped with short-range tactical nuclear missiles.
Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) spokesperson Lee Sung-jun told reporters in South Korea that Russia may have given help with the warship.
“Looking at the weapons and equipment that were revealed, we believe that there is a possibility that they received technology, funds or assistance from Russia,” Lee said.
“We are conducting a more detailed analysis.”
North Korea confirmed on Monday for the first time it had deployed troops to Russia to support Moscow in its war in Ukraine.
The two countries also announced this week that they had started building the first road bridge linking the two neighbors.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the first day of a two-day weapons test of the vessel this week, according to Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency, during which he ordered officials to work on “accelerating the nuclear armament of the navy.”
North Korea has said the destroyer, which it claimed is equipped with the “most powerful weapons,” would “enter into operation early next year.”
During the test, Kim said the North’s ship-based firepower system was “effectively combined” with the “most powerful strike means including supersonic cruise missile, strategic cruise missile and tactical ballistic missile.”
Lee said its deployment is likely to require more time.
“In the case of warships it takes several years to build and even after completion it takes additional time for them to become operational,” the JCS spokesperson said.
“So although the Choe Hyon has been unveiled it seems likely that considerably more time will be needed for its (operational) deployment.”

LONDON: Polls opened in local elections Thursday tipped to inflict losses on the UK’s two main parties and confirm the rise of hard-right populists, portending the splintering of a century-long political duopoly.
The polls in England are the first since Keir Starmer became Labour prime minister and Kemi Badenoch took over at the helm of the struggling opposition Conservatives last year.
The anti-immigrant Reform UK party is expected to make gains, as are the centrist Liberal Democrats and left-wing Greens, confirming a trend that Britain is entering an era of multi-party politics.
“British politics appears to be fragmenting,” political scientist John Curtice wrote in the Telegraph this week, adding that the polls “will likely be the first in which as many as five parties are serious players.”
British politics have been dominated by the center-left Labour party and center-right Tories since the early 20th century. But last year’s general election and recent opinion polls show a shift toward greater pluralism.
Surveys show Britons are disillusioned with the two establishment parties amid anaemic economic growth, high levels of irregular immigration and flagging public services.
Labour won a parliamentary majority in July with just 33.7 percent of the vote, the lowest share for any party winning a general election since World War II.
The Conservatives won just 24 percent of the vote, securing only 121 seats in the 650-seat parliament as the party endured its worst-ever election defeat.
Reform UK, led by Euroskeptic politician Nigel Farage, picked up five seats, an unprecedented haul for a British hard-right party, while the Liberal Democrats won 61 more MPs than at the previous election and the Greens quadrupled their representation to four.
Those results mean “fragmentation is baked in” to Thursday’s council, mayoral, and single parliamentary vote, according to political scientist Rob Ford.
“We will see losses from the Tories and Labour, but not equally,” the University of Manchester politics professor told AFP.
A total of 1,641 seats across local authorities are up for grabs on Thursday — a fraction of England’s 17,000 councillors — as are six mayoral posts and a parliamentary seat in the northwest English area of Runcorn and Helsby.


Farage’s party is the bookmakers’ favorite to win the parliamentary by-election.
Labour has faced criticism over welfare cuts and tax rises during a difficult return to power following 14 years in opposition, while Starmer’s popularity has tanked in opinion polls.
Starmer’s task in Runcorn is made more difficult by the vote being sparked by Labour MP Mike Amesbury quitting after receiving a suspended jail sentence for punching a man.
Labour won the constituency with a 53-percent vote share last year, while Reform got just 18 percent, but Starmer has acknowledged it will be “tough” to win.
On Tuesday, Reform UK topped a YouGov poll of voting intentions in Britain with 26 percent, three points ahead of Labour and six up on the Conservatives.
Victory in Runcorn, winning mayoralties like Greater Lincolnshire and putting hundreds of councillors in place would help Reform UK spread its grassroots activism before the next general election — which is likely in 2029.
Polls opened at 7:00am (0600 GMT) and were due to close at 10:00 pm, with results due to start coming in on Friday morning.
The seats were last contested in May 2021, at the height of ex-Tory PM Boris Johnson’s popularity, meaning the Conservatives are likely to suffer heavy losses that will fuel rumors of a possible future coalition with Reform UK.
The Tories are also being squeezed on the left by the Liberal Democrats, the traditional third party, which hopes for gains in the wealthy south.
As Labour edges rightwards it is facing a growing threat from the Greens on the left.
“For the big parties, it’s like the couple who are having to wrestle with the duvet that’s too small,” said Ford. “Wherever they pull the duvet, they’re going to get exposed somewhere.”