S. Korea, Malaysia ink strategic partnership

The leaders of South Korea and Malaysia forged a strategic partnership on Monday to bolster cooperation in trade, the defense industry, clean energy and critical materials as they eye the 65th anniversary of diplomatic ties next year.

This came as President Yoon Suk Yeol received Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on the occasion of his official visit to South Korea. It was the first visit by a Malaysian leader in five years.

During the talks, Yoon expressed anticipation that their "bilateral cooperation would expand to futuristic industries."

Yoon added that the signing of the new partnership will allow the two countries to "strengthen solidarity to achieve global peace, stability and prosperity against the backdrop of the growing global crisis."

Anwar, in response, said the newly established ties could lay the foundation for South Korea and Malaysia to touch upon fields such as artificial intelligence and digital technology.

He also expressed his gratitude to South Korean companies for their participation in construction projects to build skyscrapers like the Petronas Twin Towers and Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

At the summit, Yoon and Anwar agreed to build on the ongoing partnership through the elevated ties. Malaysia is South Korea's third-largest trading partner and fourth-largest investment destination among the 10 ASEAN member countries, according to Yoon's office. Yoon and Anwar last held bilateral talks in September 2023 on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Notably, the two leaders agreed to create more room for cooperation, especially in South Korea's exports of military equipment to Malaysia and the joint effort to address climate change.

South Korea highlighted its defense companies' potential bid for Malaysia's upcoming procurement of 18 more light combat aircraft starting in 2025. Earlier in 2023, South Korea-based Korea Aerospace Industries signed a $920 million deal to export 18 FA-50 light fighter jets in 2023 in Malaysia's first batch of procurement. According to Seoul, the shipment of the jets will start in 2026.

Bilateral ties in carbon-free energy will also be expanded, as Seoul seeks opportunities for cooperation beyond its imports of liquefied natural gas from Malaysia -- ranked third in terms of South Korea's LNG imports.

Through a memorandum of understanding signed Monday, the governments will move to establish more projects related to carbon capture and storage and work together to explore international opportunities for carbon reduction by abiding by Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

The two countries have already undertaken green energy projects such as Sarawak H2biscus in Malaysia to generate hydrogen using hydropower plants, as well as the Shepherd Carbon Capture and Storage project to aggregate carbon dioxide emitted from South Korean plants and transport the carbon to Malaysia for permanent storage underwater.

Also, the two countries have signed a nonbinding document to accelerate the exchange of knowledge about critical minerals, boost trade and investment and carry out joint research and development. The presidential office said the MOU would ensure a stable and resilient supply of resources from Malaysia.

Malaysia possesses the world's ninth-largest reserves of rare earth minerals, according to the presidential office, without elaborating what type of minerals it was referring to.

Also under the new MOU, universities of the two countries will work to provide greater access to learn each other's language and culture.

The two leaders also agreed to sign a bilateral free trade agreement by 2025, as the negotiations resumed in March this year after a five-year pause.

As for the security instabilities on the Korean Peninsula, the two countries together denounced North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology and missile provocations. They also expressed concerns about deepening military cooperation between North Korea and Russia amid the ongoing Ukraine war.

The summit was followed by an official lunch Yoon hosted. Yoon's wife Kim Keon Hee was not present at the meeting of the two leaders.

Anwar arrived in South Korea on Sunday and is scheduled to depart Seoul on Tuesday.