Korea, Mongolia agree to start 'golden era' in ties, cooperate on supply chain in summit

Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh declared a shared vision for a “golden era” of bilateral relations through cooperation in trade, critical minerals and supply chains at a summit in Ulaanbaatar on Thursday.

“The most significant achievement of this summit is that we two leaders reaffirmed a shared vision of ushering in the “Golden Age of Korea–Mongolia Relations” and adopted a joint declaration setting out the future direction of bilateral relations,” Lee said during a joint press conference after their summit talks at the government palace.

The two countries agreed to expand economic, trade and investment cooperation and to strengthen collaboration on supply chains, including critical minerals, Lee said. Mongolia holds the world's second-largest rare earth reserves after China, with 31 million tons. 

Lee also said the two sides agreed in principle on the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) and will join hands to achieve an annual bilateral trade volume of $1 billion by 2030.

Korea and Mongolia elevated their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership in 2021, but there was no trade agreement to institutionally support the expansion of trade and investment. The two sides have been negotiating to close a CEPA since November 2023.

"Our two countries agreed to further solidify political and diplomatic trust, while deepening our strategic partnership.," Lee said.

The two sides will also broaden the scope of mutually beneficial and sustainable cooperation in various fields, including AI and the digital transformation, advanced science and technology, logistics and infrastructure, agriculture and livestock farming, health care and medical services and development.

On the occasion of the summit, the two sides also signed 21 memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in fields including energy transition, climate change response, distribution and logistics, science and technology and cultural heritage.

Korea also agreed to contribute to improving the health and quality of life of the Mongolian people through related cooperation, including the construction of Mongolia’s National Cancer Center II.

Lee said he reiterated Seoul’s initiative for peace and cooperation on the Korean Peninsula to Khurelsukh and thanked the president for “reaffirming his steadfast support for our government’s efforts to establish lasting peace” on the peninsula.

Stating that he will attend Naadam — Mongolia’s largest national festival — on Saturday as a guest of honor, Lee said, “I hope this serves as an opportunity for the people of Korea and Mongolia to unite as one.”

In the joint press briefing, Khurelsukh described South Korea as a “third-neighbor country” and an important strategic partner.

He said Lee’s visit will “make a valuable contribution to further strengthening the political trust between the two nations, increasing practical economic cooperation and deepening the friendship between the peoples of both countries.”

Khurelsukh pointed toward the growth of bilateral relations over the past 36 years based on shared values of democracy, human rights, freedom and a market economy.

The two sides also agreed to people-to-people exchanges in various fields such as tourism, education, employment and culture.

On Thursday, Lee began a three-day state visit to Mongolia, the first by a South Korean president in 15 years. Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung are on a five-day tour that first took them to Turkey for the NATO summit.

Khurelsukh received the presidential couple in an official welcome ceremony at Sukhbaatar Square with a 21-gun salute. The two leaders then held bilateral talks and took part in an MOU signing ceremony.  

Later, Lee, joined by Khurelsukh, took part in a South Korea-Mongolia business forum attended by business executives and officials of both countries. 

Korean companies included LS, Posco, GS Retail, E-Mart and LG CNS and represented sectors including critical minerals, distribution and consumer goods and digital technology. Major Mongolian companies included MCS Group, Tavan Bogd Group and Mongolyn Alt (MAK), representing sectors like critical minerals, distribution and finance.

Lee called for the two countries to “join forces as trusted partners in the critical-mineral supply chain” in a speech at the forum.

“Mongolia is richly endowed with critical minerals — including copper, molybdenum, tungsten and rare earth elements — while the Republic of Korea possesses advanced technology, capital and logistics capabilities,” Lee said. “Together, our two countries can create powerful synergies in the supply chain sector.”

The Korea–Mongolia Rare Metals Cooperation Center in Ulaanbaatar, which launched last December, can serve as a platform for cooperation and exchanges between businesses from both countries, Lee said. He further called for growth in infrastructure investment and legal and institutional frameworks.

Lee also noted that young Koreans call Ulaanbaatar “Mongtan,” a portmanteau of Mongolia and Dongtan, a rising affluent satellite city of Seoul in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi.

The “Mongtan model,” Lee said, started with hypermarkets and convenience stores and can be applied more broadly to Korean consumer goods such as food, beverages and cosmetics, as well as the finance, health care, education and AI sectors. 

Under this model, Lee said “a Korean retail company provides its technology and expertise, while a Mongolian company makes a direct investment, operates the business and gains its own expertise.

Korea and Mongolia each possess distinct strengths in fields such as resources, technology, the workforce and capital, Lee said, underscoring the two countries have "limitless potential for cooperation."

Lee said in an interview with Mongolia's state-run Montsame news agency published on Thursday that Seoul seeks a “phased approach to denuclearization” on the Korean Peninsula while comprehensively pursuing normalization of ties with Pyongyang.

"Our government seeks to end the era of hostility and confrontation between South and North Korea, and to build a new era of peaceful coexistence and shared growth on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said.

He added that he hopes Ulaanbaatar will contribute even more to peace and stability, not only on the Korean Peninsula but across Northeast Asia as a whole, noting that the country has “maintained balanced relations not only with China and Russia, but with other key countries of the region.”

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]