Korea's top envoy is latest to visit Mongolia

Diplomacy

Published: 29 Aug. 2022, 18:44

Korea's top envoy is latest to visit Mongolia

Foreign Minister Park Jin, left, and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh shake hands after Park conveyed a letter from President Yoon Suk-yeol in their meeting in Ulaanbaatar on Monday. [MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]

Korea will be expanding cooperation with Mongolia on rare earths and other minerals for semiconductors and batteries, announced Foreign Minister Park Jin.

“Mongolia, the world's 10th largest resource-rich country, is a key partner country that can contribute to Korea's supply chain stability,” Park said in a joint press briefing with Mongolian Foreign Minister Batmunkh Battsetseg in the capital of Ulaanbaatar on Monday.

“Mongolia's abundant minerals and resources, such as rare earths for advanced semiconductors and displays and rare metals for batteries, can be combined with Korea's infrastructure and technology to create a synergy effect,” he added.

The two foreign ministers also announced a decision to build a rare metals center in Mongolia with funding from Korea, with plans to start construction as early as next year.

Park’s trip to Mongolia, scheduled to last through Tuesday, is the first by a Korean foreign minister since 2014.

Since April, foreign ministers from Russia, China, the United States and Japan have visited the country at least once, bringing global attention to the role the resource-rich country may play in global supply chains.

In the press conference Monday, Battsetseg welcomed Park’s visit, adding that she has proposed a trilateral meeting among Mongolia, Korea and the United States in the near future, an idea that she said Park welcomed.

The two signed a draft of a climate change agreement between the two countries, outlining plans to work together on reforestation of Mongolia and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and fine dust and yellow dust pollution.

Park met with Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Monday afternoon, conveying a letter from President Yoon Suk-yeol. The letter was reported to have focused on their strategic partnership on democratic values and supply chain continuity.

The last Mongolian-Korean presidential summit was in September 2021.

“This visit is central to development of relations with Mongolia, which shares with Korea values on democracy and human rights,” a Foreign Ministry official told the JoongAng Ilbo on Sunday. “Mongolia is a country that has traditionally maintained good relations with both Koreas, so it is very important to secure Mongolia's support on Korean peninsula issues.”

Park and Khurelsukh were scheduled to continue their conversation over dinner at the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park on Monday, and to meet once more on Tuesday morning.

The foreign minister kicked off his visit to Mongolia on Sunday with a visit to a memorial park in the city dedicated to Korean independence fighter Lee Tae-jun, who moved to Mongolia in 1914 and opened a hospital to treat infectious diseases.

He also met with researchers and heads of think tanks in Ulaanbaatar on Sunday to explain in detail the Yoon government’s so-called “audacious initiative” to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

BY KANG TAE-HWA, ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]