On Tuesday June 27, 2023, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Lee Dohoon launched an ROK-U.S.-Mongolia trilateral dialogue with the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Jose W. Fernandez and Mongolian Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry Ganbaatar Jambal and discussed ways to cooperate to stabilize global critical mineral supply chains.

In particular, the three sides agreed to work together in analyzing mineral samples acquired from geological surveys. The three countries also agreed to cooperate in identifying areas of common interest while sharing information on mineral exploration projects between the ROK and Mongolia and between the U.S. and Mongolia.

The dialogue also featured a public-private (Track 1.5) meeting, where industry association representatives exchanged information about the status and potential of Mongolia’s mineral resource sectors as well as global commodity market trends and the outlook for investment. The representatives engaged in discussions not only on Mongolia’s major exports of coal and copper but also the possibility of developing critical minerals for battery materials such as rare earth elements and lithium.

The three sides agreed to continue high-level trilateral dialogues on critical minerals while holding working-level meetings on a regular basis. They also agreed to arrange an ROK-U.S.-Mongolia B2B roundtable on the occasion of the Mongolian Mineral Week planned for the second week of October to render support to companies of the three countries to explore potential joint projects.

Since the ROK and Mongolia agreed to establish a new ROK-Mongolia Rare Metal Cooperation Center during Foreign Minister Park Jin’s visit to Mongolia in August 2022, the ROK government has proceeded with setting up a governmental Task Force and is preparing to launch a Korea-Mongolia Rare Metals Cooperation Committee to discuss specific measures for cooperation. 

Moreover, the ROK has been actively participating in the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP), aimed at stabilizing and diversifying global mineral supply chains, and will seek to strengthen cooperation between MSP partners and resource-rich countries with the launch of the ROK-U.S.-Mongolia trilateral dialogue.