Seoul: Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will travel to the United States next week to participate in a multilateral ministerial meeting focused on ensuring stable critical mineral supply chains, the foreign ministry announced Thursday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, is part of the U.S.'s efforts to encourage its allies and partners to bolster their efforts in securing stable supply chains for raw materials essential to advanced technologies. This initiative comes in response to China's significant influence in the mining and refining of rare earth elements.
This meeting will be the first of its kind hosted by Washington, with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expected to lead the proceedings. "Minister Cho will discuss cooperation efforts to stabilize and diversify critical mineral supply chains with many partners, including the Group of Seven nations and mineral-rich countries, as well as the United States," ministry spokesperson Park Il stated during a press briefing.