A Chinese official meets North Korean leader Kim in Pyongyang in highest-level talks in years

BEIJING (AP) — A top ranking official Chinese official reaffirmed ties with North Korea during a meeting Saturday with the country’s leader Kim Jong Un in the capital Pyongyang, China's state media reported, in the highest-level talks between the allies in years.

The visit by Zhao Leji, who ranks third in the ruling Communist Party hierarchy and heads the ceremonial parliament, came as North Korea has test fired missiles to intimidate South Korea and its ally, the United States.

The Xinhua News Agency reported that Zhao told Kim at the meeting concluding his three-day visit that China, the North’s most important source of economic aid and diplomatic support, looked forward to further developing ties, but made no mention of the political situation on the peninsula or the region.

North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency also confirmed the meeting on Sunday and said Kim held unspecified discussions with Zhao on “boosting the multi-faceted exchange and cooperation” and “other important issues of mutual concern.” KCNA said the Chinese delegation left the country later on Saturday.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties 75 years ago, China and North Korea have been “good neighbors and struggled together to attain a common destiny and level of development,” Xinhua quoted Zhao as saying.

China fought on behalf of the reclusive Communist State against the U.S. and others during the 1950-1953 Korean War, and in recent years has helped prop up its weak economy, allegedly in violation of U.N. sanctions in response to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program that Beijing had endorsed.

Zhao met his North Korean counterpart Choe Ryong Hae on Thursday and discussed how to promote exchanges and cooperation in all areas, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported.

North Korea closed its borders during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic amid reports of a major outbreak and food shortages. Zhao’s visit to North Korea marked the first bilateral exchange involving a Chinese Politburo Standing Committee member since the pandemic started. Prior to the outbreak, Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping held two summits in 2019.

North Korea and China are expected to hold a number of exchanges this year to mark the anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties. North Korea has sought to boost its cooperation with Beijing and Russia in the face of a standoff with the U.S. and South Korea over its missile launches and nuclear program.

Kim traveled to Russia in September for a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The U.S., South Korea and others accuse North Korea of supplying conventional weapons for Russia’s war in Ukraine in return for advanced weapons technologies and other support.

China has refused to criticize the Russian invasion and accused the U.S. and NATO of provoking Moscow, but says it will not provide Moscow with direct military support.

__ AP writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed from Seoul, South Korea.

In this photo provided on April 12, 2024, by the North Korean government, Choe Ryong Hae, front right, vice-chairman of the central committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea, shakes hands with Zhao Leji, center left, chairman of the National People’s Congress of China, as Zhao and other delegates arrive at the Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, April 11, 2024. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

An airplane carrying a Chinese delegation headed by Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People’s Congress of China and considered the No. 3 official in the ruling Communist Party, arrives at the Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, April 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Cha Song Ho)

Choe Ryong Hae, left, vice-chairman of the central committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea, shakes hands with Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People’s Congress of China and considered the No. 3 official in the ruling Communist Party, as Zhao and other delegates arrive at the Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, April 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Cha Song Ho)

In this photo provided on April 12, 2024, by the North Korean government, Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People’s Congress of China speaks during a welcome reception, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 11, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

A Chinese official meets North Korean leader Kim in Pyongyang in highest-level talks in years

A Chinese official meets North Korean leader Kim in Pyongyang in highest-level talks in years

In this photo provided on April 12, 2024, by the North Korean government, Choe Ryong Hae, right, vice-chairman of the central committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea, talks with Zhao Leji, left, chairman of the National People’s Congress of China during a reception, at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, North Korea, on April 11, 2024. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

LONDON (AP) — Millions of voters in England and Wales will cast their ballots on Thursday in an array of local elections that will be the last big test before a U.K. general election that all indicators show will see the Conservative Party ousted from power after 14 years.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will hope he can point to successes, notably in a couple of key mayoral races, to douse talk that the Conservative Party will change leader again before the United Kingdom's main election, which could take place as soon as next month.

On the other hand, Labour Party leader Keir Starmer will hope Thursday's local elections confirm what opinion polls have shown for two years — that Labour is on course for power for the first time since 2010.

“The national context going into these local elections is very good for Labour and very bad for the Conservatives,” said Rob Ford, professor of politics at the University of Manchester.

As is often the case in British local elections, the run-up is about expectation management, so any outperformance can be painted as a success.

That's certainly the case with the Conservatives, who are widely predicted to lose around half of the 1,000 seats they are contesting. They have pointed out, for example, that the equivalent elections were held in 2021 when the government of then Prime Minister Boris Johnson was riding high following the rollout of the coronavirus vaccines.

Thursday's elections are important in themselves — voters decide who will run many aspects of their daily lives, such as bin collections, the state of the roads and local crime prevention measures, for the coming years.

But with a general election looming, they will be viewed through a national prism.

Here are five things to know:

Voters in England and Wales will go to the polls for local, mayoral, and police and crime commissioner elections.

The voting is the final test of public opinion before the general election, which has to take place by January 2025 but which Sunak, who has the power to decide on the date, has indicated will be in the second half of 2024.

As well as a number of mayoral votes, including in London where Sadiq Khan is expected to win a third term, there are more than 100 elections to local councils and nearly 40 for local police and crime commissioners.

There's also a special parliamentary election in Blackpool South, a long-time Labour seat that went Conservative in the last election in 2019, when Johnson won a big victory. The results will be announced in coming days. London's mayoral result isn't due until Saturday.

No elections are taking place in Scotland or Northern Ireland, the other constituent nations of the U.K.

Potentially his job. Sunak replaced Liz Truss, who quit after 45 days following a budget of unfunded tax cuts that roiled financial markets and sent borrowing costs for homeowners surging.

Sunak, who warned about the economic implications of Truss' plan, was supposed to be a steady hand after taking the top job in October 2022. If opinion polls are right, he's not improved the Conservatives' ratings, which had even prior to Truss, been battered by the circus surrounding Johnson, who was ousted over a series of ethics scandals.

With the Conservatives seemingly headed for one of their biggest-ever electoral defeats, there's mounting speculation Sunak may face a leadership battle if Thursday's elections are really bad.

Key to his survival could be the mayoral elections in the West Midlands and Tees Valley in the northeast of England. Should Conservative mayors Andy Street and Ben Houchen hold on, he may win some respite from restive lawmakers in his party. Should both lose, he may face trouble.

In historical terms, Labour has a mountain to climb if it's going to form the next government.

It's performance in 2019 was its worst since 1935. Starmer has tried to bring the party back to the center of British politics after the five-year leadership of veteran left-winger Jeremy Corbyn.

Starmer's cautious approach has clearly worked if opinion polls are anything to go by. But it's fair to say that enthusiasm levels are far lower than those that heralded the arrival of Tony Blair ahead of the 1997 general election.

That may be partly due to the more challenging economic backdrop, but Starmer, formerly a human rights lawyer, lacks the razzmatazz of his predecessor. Even so, Starmer will hope Labour notches up big wins in areas it lost under Corbyn, in the north of England and in the Midlands.

One point of concern is how many traditionally Labour supporters in Muslim communities fail to vote in protest at the party's stance over the conflict in Gaza.

One of the contributing factors to Blair's landslide victory in 1997 came from so-called tactical voting, whereby some voters put aside their preferred political party and back whoever they think is most likely to defeat the Conservative candidate.

Tactical voting has reemerged in recent years and could become key in the general election. It usually involves voters sympathetic to Labour in parts of the country, such as southwest England, backing the much-smaller Liberal Democrats and Liberal Democrat supporters loaning votes to Labour in the Midlands and the north of England.

Conservative lawmakers across the U.K., even in supposedly safe seats, will be hugely concerned if voters think more tactically.

The Conservatives don't just face a challenge from the left. Reform UK is trying to outflank it from the right.

Though it is standing in a few seats, Conservatives will worry that support for the party will see Labour and others come through the middle.

Reform UK, which claims to be tougher on issues such as immigration and on Brexit, has said it won't stand aside to give incumbent Conservative lawmakers an easier chance at the general election, as its former incarnation, The Brexit Party, did in 2019. The Blackpool South special election will be particularly interesting on that front.

FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019 file photo, a polling station signpost lies on the pavement, in Twickenham, England. Millions of voters in England and Wales will cast their ballots in an array of local elections. The voting on Thursday will be the last big test before a U.K. general election that all indicators show will see the Conservative Party ousted from power after 14 years. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)