Tag: rare earth

rare earth

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A chart of minerals used as raw materials in advanced industrial products, alongside the Chinese flag

Exclusive: Korean defense firms quietly bypass China's rare earth curbs via third countries

Firms are routing critical Chinese minerals through Russia and Arab states as tightening export controls threaten missile production.

2026.8.13

Mining machinery operates on a rocky slope beside a large haul truck and piles of excavated stone.

Korea's Mongolian mineral bet may become a geopolitical tightrope walk between China, Russia and the U.S.

Seoul’s bid to tap Mongolia’s vast critical minerals could ease reliance on China, but routes through China and Russia leave the strategy exposed to geopolitical pressure.

2026.7.19

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China's rare earth 'weaponization' sparks multibillion dollar Korea-U.S. minerals alliance

As Beijing tightens rare earth exports, Washington is turning to Korean companies for billions in new partnerships across mining, refining and magnet production.

2026.7.10

Vice Industry Minister Moon Shin-hak speaks at a public-private joint meeting in Seoul on the government's response to rare earth supply chains on Oct. 16, 2025. [YONHAP]

Korea unveils strategy to enhance rare earth supply chains

The government on Thursday announced a comprehensive strategy aimed at strengthening Korea's supply chains for rare earth elements amid the growing importance of such materials that are critical in many advanced industries.

2026.2.5

Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China, Oct. 31, 2010. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

High-level Chinese officials to visit Brussels to discuss rare earth export curbs, EU's Costa says

European Council President Antonio Costa said on Monday that high-level officials from China were scheduled to visit Brussels in the coming weeks to discuss Beijing's export curbs on rare earths.

2025.10.27

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan on June 29, 2019. [AP/YONHAP]

New U.S.-China showdown may color upcoming APEC summit

Signs are emerging of a renewed U.S.-China standoff, triggered this time by a dispute over rare earth exports. After China announced export controls U.S. President Donald Trump declared 100 percent tariffs on Chinese goods.

2025.10.13

Workers use machinery to dig at a rare earth mine in Ganxian county in central China's Jiangxi province on Dec. 30, 2010. [AP/YONHAP]

China’s rare earth export controls threaten Korea’s auto and defense supply chain

A tightening Chinese chokehold on heavy rare earth exports is forcing Korean manufacturers to the brink, exposing cracks in Seoul's strategy to secure critical minerals.

2025.9.26

Containers are stacked at the port in Qingdao during a sunset on Aug. 18. [AFP/YONHAP]

China's imports of U.S. rare earth ore surge in July

China's rare earth ore imports from the United States surged in July, likely due to prior shipments from MP Materials.

2025.8.22

Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China October 31, 2010. [REUTERS]

베트남 희토류 공급 늘리고 중국 의존도 줄이는 한국

Rare earths — key minerals essential for semiconductors, arms and EV batteries production — have moved to the forefront of U.S.-China tensions as China, which accounts for the majority of the world’s rare earth supply, increasingly leverages its...

2025.8.20

Vietnam emerges as key rare earth source as Korea reduces reliance on China

Rare earths — key minerals essential for semiconductors, arms and EV batteries — have moved to the forefront of U.S.-China tensions as China increasingly leverages its dominance in resources as a geopolitical tool.

2025.8.12