Korea will attend a G7 (Group of Seven) "critical minerals meeting" convened by the United States to counter China's rare earth dominance.
According to Reuters on the 11th (local time), Ministers from the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, and Italy, which are G7 member countries, as well as Korea, India, Australia, the European Union (EU), and Mexico will be present at the critical minerals meeting to be held in Washington on the evening of the 12th.
They account for 60% of global demand for critical minerals, and the meeting is expected to discuss solutions to supply issues for critical minerals amid China's rare earth dominance.
After the meeting, participating countries are expected to issue a statement, but reports said the chances of concrete joint action are not high.
The United States' move to place critical minerals on the agenda as an urgent matter and to lead the meeting appears to be driven by strong wariness of China's rare earth dominance.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), China controls supply chains for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earths. In response, the United States has consistently worked to reduce dependence on China by signing critical mineral agreements with countries including Australia and Ukraine.
On June 6, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent personally met with G7 leaders and delivered an announcement related to rare earths, and the G7 later agreed on a new action plan for critical minerals.