Home > Opinion > Editorials

Korea must join U.S.-Japan-Australia rare earth alliance

Published: 23 Oct. 2025, 00:00

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump sign a U.S.-Australia Framework for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths during a meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington on Oct. 20. [EPA/YONHAP]

The United States, Japan and Australia are moving to strengthen cooperation on rare earth supply chains in an effort to reduce dependence on China. On Monday, Washington and Canberra launched a new “Framework for Securing of Supply in the Mining and Processing of Critical Minerals and Rare Earths,” with Tokyo joining soon after. The three countries regard rare earths not as ordinary commodities but as strategic assets tied to national security. Since these materials are vital to semiconductors, batteries, electric vehicles and advanced weapons, diversifying supply chains dominated by China is a matter of survival — a task equally urgent for manufacturing-heavy South Korea.

China’s use of rare earth export controls as leverage in its technological rivalry with the United States shows that South Korea must act quickly. The weaponization of resources has become a regular feature of global competition, with countries using materials such as rare earths to pressure rivals. The only real safeguards are diversifying import sources and developing substitutes. Japan moved swiftly after China restricted rare earth exports during a 2010 East Sea island dispute, investing in alternative materials and supply channels. When relations with Seoul soured in 2019, Tokyo weaponized export controls on key semiconductor materials to exert pressure. Japan now even has a minister for economic security, reflecting its systematic approach to resource management.

South Korea, by contrast, has major gaps in its rare earth strategy. During the Lee Myung-bak administration, the government pursued overseas resource development, but many projects failed due to hasty investments. Later administrations labeled them “corruption scandals” and dismantled them at a loss. Yet resource policy cannot shift with political tides. The world has entered an era where economic security depends on both technology and resource control. The United States is rebuilding its refining and processing capabilities, while Australia is leveraging its mineral reserves to anchor global supply chains.

The 2021 urea shortage, triggered by Chinese export restrictions, exposed Seoul's vulnerability to resource weaponization. More recently, Beijing added the U.S. subsidiary of Hanwha Ocean — a key partner in the “Make American Shipbuilding Great Again” initiative — to its sanctions list, escalating pressure on South Korea. Despite that warning, its reliance on China for urea imports has risen from 27 percent in 2021 to 62 percent this year. As Washington-Beijing tensions intensify, rare earths could become South Korea's next Achilles’ heel.

A handout photo from Nov. 14, 2024, and received on Oct. 21, from Lynas Rare Earths Limited shows the company's rare earths processing facility located in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. [AFP/YONHAP]

The U.S.-Japan-Australia rare earth partnership is not a military or ideological bloc like those dividing North Korea, China, and Russia from the United States, Japan and South Korea. It is a pragmatic alliance grounded in mutual economic interests and industrial survival. For Seoul, joining the framework is not a matter of diplomacy but of self-preservation. Without participation, South Korea risks losing its competitive position in the advanced manufacturing supply chain.

Now is the time for Seoul to establish a comprehensive national strategy for resource security and pursue rare earth diversification based on practicality, not politics.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.