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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that South Korea and Argentina will usher in a new era of cooperation, as the two leaders met in Buenos Aires to deepen bilateral ties in critical minerals, energy, and trade.

Lee made the remarks during a meeting with members of the South Korean community in Argentina, the final stop on his three-nation South America tour. According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee said that "amid the changing international order, from the artificial intelligence revolution to shifts in global supply chains, strategic bilateral cooperation is more important than ever."

The comments followed a summit with Argentine President Javier Milei earlier that day, during which the two leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation on critical minerals and to begin South Korean imports of Argentine crude oil next year.

Coverage Comparison

The Buenos Aires Times focused on the economic dimensions of the visit, highlighting the deepening cooperation in the critical minerals industry and the agreement on critical minerals announced by Argentina's Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno. The report noted that the two countries sought to deepen cooperation in critical minerals, energy, and trade, and that the leaders discussed strengthening bilateral trade with particular emphasis on energy, critical minerals, and food.

Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's leading wire service, framed the visit in diplomatic terms, emphasizing President Lee's remarks on a new era of cooperation and the strategic importance of bilateral collaboration. The agency reported Lee's statement that cooperation between the two countries is "entering a stage of tangible results," with expansion into critical minerals, including lithium, as well as energy and infrastructure.

Both outlets reported the meeting between Presidents Milei and Lee, though they placed different emphasis on the specifics of the discussions.

Key Claims

  • President Javier Milei met President Lee Jae Myung in Buenos Aires on Friday, as reported by both the Buenos Aires Times and Yonhap News Agency.
  • The two leaders discussed strengthening bilateral trade, with particular emphasis on energy, critical minerals, and food, according to the Buenos Aires Times.
  • Argentina's Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno announced the agreement on critical minerals, which "seeks to promote investments and joint projects in the exploration, extraction, processing and refinement" of critical minerals, as reported by the Buenos Aires Times.
  • The Buenos Aires Times reported that Argentine President Milei's administration gave South Korean company Posco the green light to ramp up lithium extraction in Salta.
  • Argentina is the world's fifth-largest producer of lithium, considered an essential mineral in the global energy transition, according to the Buenos Aires Times.
  • President Lee Jae Myung said that South Korea and Argentina will usher in a new era of cooperation, as reported by Yonhap News Agency.
  • South Korea plans to import Argentine crude oil beginning next year, as reported by Yonhap News Agency, following the summit agreement.