▲ President Lee Jae Myung (C) attends the opening ceremony of Mongolia's largest Naadam national festival in Ulaanbaatar on July 11, 2026, alongside Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh (R) and first lady Kim Hea Kyung. (Yonhap)

president-Mongolia

Lee heads home after state visit to Mongolia, first in 15 yrs by S. Korean leader

By Park Boram

ULAANBAATAR, July 11 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung headed home Saturday, wrapping up his three-day visit to Ulaanbaatar, where he pledged to expand cooperation with the country in critical minerals and other economic and cultural areas.

The trip to Mongolia was the final leg of Lee's two-nation trip that earlier took him to Ankara, where he took part in this year's North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit as the head of a partner nation.

Lee arrived here Thursday for a state visit that marked the first of its kind by a South Korean head of state in 15 years.

In a summit with Mongolian President Ukhnaa Khurelsukh on Thursday, the two leaders declared a shared vision for expanding cooperation in various fields, most notably trade, critical minerals and advanced technologies.

During a joint press announcement, Lee and Khurelsukh declared the start of a "golden age" in South Korea-Mongolia relations, under which the countries will strengthen cooperation in the economy, trade and supply chains, including those involving critical minerals.

The two countries also agreed in principle on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), aiming to increase annual bilateral trade to US$1 billion by 2030.

On Saturday, Lee attended Mongolia's largest national festival, Naadam, alongside Khurelsukh, as a special guest, as the leaders sought to promote friendship between their countries' peoples.

The South Korean president was due to arrive home later Saturday.

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