SEOUL, January 13 (AJP) - South Korea’s deputy prime minister and finance minister, Koo Yun-cheol, joined counterparts in Washington on Monday for talks aimed at strengthening cooperation on critical minerals, the ministry said Tuesday.
Participants at the meeting of finance ministers agreed on the need for swift action to address risks in the supply of minerals essential to advanced manufacturing, clean energy and defense industries.
U.S. officials urged countries to move beyond statements of intent and commit to concrete investment, emphasizing a strategy of “de-risking” rather than decoupling from existing supply chains, the ministry said. Washington also proposed deeper coordination among allied and partner economies to improve supply-chain resilience.
In an open session, Koo highlighted South Korean companies’ strengths in critical-minerals processing and argued that global value chains should be reinforced by linking countries’ comparative advantages.
He also stressed the growing importance of recycling critical minerals as a means of restoring supply stability and called for the creation of a forum that would allow companies to pursue cooperation centered on specific projects.
Resource-rich countries, including Canada and Australia, expressed strong interest in technology cooperation with South Korea, particularly in refining and recycling, as part of efforts to build more resilient critical-minerals supply chains, the ministry said.
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