Ji Da-gyum
For over a decade, I’ve navigated the complexities of North Korean affairs, security, and foreign policy from both Seoul and Washington, D.C. As the National Desk Political Team Lead, I track the pulse of geopolitics, closely following developments from the Unification Ministry and the Foreign Ministry. My mornings start with Rodong Sinmun—North Korea’s state mouthpiece—before diving into the day’s headlines from Seoul and Washington.
Lee says leaders agreed to continue ‘in-depth’ talks to institutionalize defense, shipbuilding cooperation President Lee Jae Myung (left) and Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast shake hands following their joint press announcement at the presidential palace in Santiago on Thursday. (Yonhap) President Lee Jae Myung said he and Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast agreed to revive stalled efforts to upgrade their countries’ two-decade-old free trade agreement and pursue strategic cooperation in critical minerals and defense.The leaders announced the initiatives after meeting Thursday at La Moneda Palace in Santiago, during the first visit to Chile by a South Korean president in 11 years. Chile is the second stop on Lee’s Latin American tour after Brazil.At a joint news conference, Lee said the “two countries had agreed to expand trade and investment ties in pursuit of shared growth.”“To this end, Korea and Chile agreed to convene the Korea-Chile Free Trade Commission for the first time in 10 years,” Lee said. “The commission will review major trade and investment issues and discuss ways to further strengthen bilateral trade ties, including mutually beneficial improvements to the Korea-Chile FTA.”The commission is the pact’s highest ministerial-level decision-making body, responsible for reviewing its implementation and discussing revisions. It plays a central role in modernizing and strengthening the agreement.The Korea-Chile FTA, South Korea’s first free trade agreement, took effect on April 1, 2004. The two countries have been negotiating an upgrade since 2018, with their ninth and most recent round of working-level talks held in April 2024.“Bilateral trade has more than quadrupled since the FTA took effect 20 years ago, proving that our two countries made the right strategic choice,” Lee said.Kast said the two leaders agreed to “work toward reviving the Korea-Chile Free Trade Commission, which last met in 2015, and to jointly explore a road map for modernizing and strengthening bilateral relations.”Lee further explained he and Kast also “held in-depth discussions on expanding cooperation through major economic frameworks,” including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Pacific Alliance and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast hold their summit talks at the presidential palace in Santiago on Thursday. (Yonhap) From critical minerals to defense, shipbuildingSpeaking at the news conference, Lee said the two countries had also committed to “actively pursuing mutually beneficial, forward-looking cooperation in strategic sectors such as critical-mineral supply chains, infrastructure, public security and defense.”Lee said South Korea and Chile were natural partners whose complementary strengths could underpin mutually beneficial cooperation.“Chile, a resource-rich nation, is the world’s largest producer of copper and possesses the world’s largest lithium reserves, while Korea is a global leader in semiconductors, batteries and other advanced industries,” Lee said.“Together, our two countries are natural and ideal partners when it comes to establishing critical mineral supply chains.”Kast echoed that view. “There is another Korean proverb that says, ‘Even a sheet of paper is lighter when two people lift it together,’” Kast said.“That is how we view cooperation on critical minerals today: as a challenge that Chile and Korea are taking on together to provide stability to the supply chains the world needs.”The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on a mineral resources partnership, elevating their joint committee on mineral resources partnership to the ministerial level, establishing a new working-level channel led by director-general-level officials and expanding cooperation across the entire supply chain for key minerals, including lithium and copper.The leaders also pledged government support for the successful completion of the Chacao Bridge, a flagship infrastructure project involving Korean companies that will connect Chiloe Island to mainland Chile.Defense and shipbuilding cooperation also featured in the talks.“We shared the view that establishing an institutional foundation is essential to deepen cooperation in the defense and shipbuilding sectors and agreed to continue in-depth discussions on the matter,” Lee said.Public security and maritime safety were also on the agenda.The two countries signed an MOU on police cooperation covering intelligence sharing, joint operations against transnational crime and the transfer of South Korea’s policing expertise and systems.A separate MOU on maritime safety and security is aimed at strengthening law enforcement capabilities in the Pacific and expanding a transnational crime-fighting network between South Korea and Latin America. President Lee Jae Myung and Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast make finger-heart gestures toward members of their delegations and reporters as they enter La Moneda Palace in Santiago after an official welcoming ceremony on Thursday. (Yonhap) Antarctica, K-Pop bring Korea, Chile closerLee also said the two countries would broaden cooperation in science and technology while expanding cultural and people-to-people exchanges.The two leaders highlighted their countries’ cooperation in Antarctica.Punta Arenas in southern Chile serves as South Korea’s main gateway to the continent, providing logistical support for King Sejong Station. Bilateral cooperation has also grown to include joint research on Antarctic geology, glaciers and climate change.Kast noted that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Korea-Chile Antarctic Cooperation Center, established in Punta Arenas in 2016, and said he had invited Lee to visit Antarctica with him.“We want to take another step forward in this partnership, which brings us together as we look toward one of the globe’s last frontiers,” Kast said. “In that context, I have invited President Lee Jae Myung to make a joint visit to Antarctica.”Following the summit, the two sides revised their MOU on Antarctic research and operations, expanding cooperation to encompass environmentally sustainable research-station operations, emerging environmental and ecological issues, and Antarctic governance.Kast also emphasized that bilateral ties extend beyond commerce, pointing to Chileans’ growing embrace of Korean culture, including K-pop, films and television series.Kast noted that BTS is scheduled to perform in October at Chile’s National Stadium, the country’s premier sporting venue. Interest in Korean culture is particularly strong among young Chileans, increasing numbers of whom are studying the Korean language or pursuing postgraduate degrees in South Korea, Kast said.Lee closed the news conference by expressing hope that South Korea and Chile would “join hands and usher in a better future for both nations as true amigos.”“I hope President Kast and the first lady will visit Korea in the near future, giving us an opportunity to meet again and extend to them the same warm hospitality we have received here,” Lee said.
