South Korea Expands Security Outreach From Europe to Mongolia As Regional Defence Network Broadens

South Korea has advanced a new defense cooperation agreement with Mongolia while expanding defense engagement with NATO partners in Europe through a series of diplomatic and industry initiatives announced in June.

The parallel efforts mirror Seoul’s attempt to extend its security engagement beyond the Indo-Pacific region and enhance its cooperation with its European counterparts as well as open up more potential for its defense sector.

The developments also strengthen the South’s relationship with Mongolia, which is an emerging key player on the critical minerals market and in regional diplomacy.

Mongolia Advances Defense Cooperation

On June 24, Mongolia’s Cabinet reviewed and approved a draft defense cooperation agreement with South Korea during its regular meeting, authorizing Defense Minister Batlutu Damba to sign the pact after consultations with the relevant parliamentary standing committees, according to Mongolian government records.

The proposed deal calls for increased bilateral defense cooperation, including through exchanges of personnel, military training, field schools, defense research, and regular consultations between military officials. It also would help ease inter-community military visits and collaboration at all command levels.

South Korea and Mongolia first established formal defense relations in 1999 through a sector-specific agreement between their defense ministries. The pending agreement would mark the first comprehensive bilateral defense cooperation framework between the two countries.

Strategic Dialogue Strengthens Broader Partnership

Proposed defense pact comes after talks at the start of the month. On 9 June, the South Korean’s First Vice Foreign Minister, Park Yoon-joo, met Mongolian State Secretary, Gombosuren Amartuvshin in Ulaanbaatar for the first-ever vice-ministerial level strategic dialogue.

The two countries discussed issues of cooperation in rare earths and critical minerals, supply chains, healthcare and regional and international issues, according to South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Mongolian Foreign Ministry said during the visit, Park also met Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh, who expressed interest in continuing bilateral cooperation and requested to closely cooperate on the future high-level exchanges between the two countries.

Mongolia, which borders Russia and China, pursues a “Third Neighbor Policy” aimed at strengthening relations with democratic partners including the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Following a 2023 memorandum of understanding on rare metals and supply chain cooperation, Seoul and Ulaanbaatar have continued expanding collaboration in critical minerals, an area viewed as strategically important for both countries.

South Korea Deepens NATO Engagement

Meanwhile, Korea has been enhancing military cooperation with NATO nations in Europe and strengthening its relations with Mongolia. Recently, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Korea AeroSpace Administration sent a delegation comprising public and private sector representatives to Belgium, Romania and Poland.

The delegation consisted of representatives from Hanwha Systems, Korea Aerospace Industries, Hyundai Rotem, and space companies Innospace, Nara Space.

According to the Atlantic Council, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official said the initiative was intended to connect the country’s aerospace companies with evolving European security requirements.

The outreach follows the second defense consultative meeting in May between South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration and NATO’s director for defense innovation and armaments.

During the meeting, Seoul sought greater access to NATO Standardization Agreements (STANAGs), which establish technical standards that allow military equipment to operate across alliance forces.

According to South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration, NATO also proposed expanding cooperation in multinational ammunition and space-related projects, reflecting broader defense industry collaboration between the two sides.

Expanding Security Partnerships

South Korea’s engagement with Mongolia and NATO comes as Seoul continues to broaden its international security partnerships.

Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary General, stated earlier this year that the Republic of Korea is “a close NATO partner”, and that “Euro-Atlantic security and Indo-Pacific security are closely linked. In a post on X, Rutte said the two sides are strengthening ties, including in the defense sector.

In addition to the expanding cooperation with NATO, Mongolia is another important partner in South Korea’s region. The nation is also a diplomatic ally of both China and North Korea, and hosts the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue, a Track 1.5 security dialogue, which involves both Koreas and the United States and other regional countries.

The new diplomatic and defense strategies reflect South Korea’s ongoing diplomatic and defense cooperation among bilateral and multilateral regional and European countries.