South Korea and Chile to Upgrade 22-Year-Old FTA and Strengthen Mineral Cooperation

[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung, currently on a tour of South America, has held a summit with Chilean President Kast. The two leaders agreed to upgrade their free trade agreement, which marks its 22nd anniversary this year, and to strengthen cooperation on minerals.

Reporter Kang Cheongwan has the details.

[Reporter]

President Kast greets President Lee Jae-myung with a handshake upon his arrival at the presidential palace in Chile.

Meeting for the first time, the two leaders began their talks in a friendly atmosphere, even posing with "finger hearts" at President Kast's suggestion.

The main agenda of the summit, which lasted about an hour, was the modernization of the South Korea-Chile FTA, which was South Korea's first-ever free trade agreement.

Since it was signed in 2004, 22 years have passed, and the plan is to expand the areas of cooperation beyond agricultural and industrial goods to digital trade and artificial intelligence.

[Lee Jae-myung / President of South Korea: By resuming the South Korea-Chile Joint Committee on Free Trade for the first time in 10 years, we will review trade and investment issues....]

Measures to strengthen cooperation on critical minerals with Chile, the world's leading nation in reserves of lithium and copper—key raw materials for advanced industries such as batteries—were also discussed. President Kast expressed his commitment to cooperation by citing a Korean proverb.

[Kast / President of Chile: Korea has a proverb that says, "Many hands make light work." We understand cooperation on critical minerals as precisely that kind of example.]

Amid the signing of five memorandums of understanding, including mineral resource cooperation and Antarctic research cooperation, President Kast also proposed a joint visit to Antarctica to President Lee in the future.

Having concluded the summit, President Lee has arrived in Argentina, the final stop on his South American tour.

Shortly, President Lee Jae-myung will hold a summit with Argentine President Javier Milei.

(Video by Jung Sang-bo, Video Editing by Wi Won-yang)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.