South Korea on Tuesday attended a meeting of the United States-led Minerals Security Partnership meeting and discussed ways to boost cooperation on supply chains of major minerals with resource-rich African nations, the industry ministry said.

The meeting of the partnership was held in Cape Town on the day, involving 12 member nations, including Australia, Canada and France, as well as South Africa, Tanzania and Congo, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Launched in June 2022, the initiative was to bolster critical mineral supply chains in line with their growing demand for clean energy and other major technologies in a way that helps nations realize "the full economic development benefit of their geological endowments."

During the meeting, the nations vowed to push for the sustainable development of major minerals by protecting environments and seeking the development of local communities, and decided to check their implementation of the environmental, social and corporate governance principles on a regular basis.

South Korean officials also met with government and corporate officials of South Africa, Zambia and other African nations on how to establish their networks for major minerals and how to strengthen cooperation amid the fast-changing global industrial landscape and other circumstances, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)