Marina Gruzer | 11 September 2024

Summary

• In June 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol conducted a tour of Central Asia in which he visited Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to initiate the new K-Silk Road programme and secure agreements on enhancing Korea-Central Asian cooperation in energy, transportation and technology sectors. 

• The K-Silk Road aims to improve South Korea’s access to raw materials and critical minerals in Central Asia via several memorandums of understanding on lithium and uranium exploration opportunities for Korean semiconductor manufacturers while also providing Central Asian partners with alternatives to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). 

• While Yoon’s new initiative is likely to aid in Central Asia’s high speed railway and telecommunications industry development, the K-Silk Road is unlikely to significantly diversify Central Asia’s multi-vector foreign policy as China’s BRI will likely remain the dominant partner in regional development projects.

On 10th June, 2024, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol began his tour of Central Asia, visiting Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to promote his new ‘K-Silk Road’ initiative. This builds on South Korea’s past interest in the region from former president Chun Doo-hwan’s Nordpolitik doctrine from 1983 and former president Park Geun-Hye’s Eurasia Initiative in the 2000s. The trip aimed to develop cooperation in several key sectors, such as energy, transport and manufacturing while also improving trade. The K-Silk Road Initiative is a strategic programme that offers infrastructure development support in Central Asia and acts as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative. With Central Asia having abundant gas and critical mineral reserves, such as tungsten and lithium, South Korea hopes to elevate regional relations to streamline resource supply chains for South Korean semiconductor manufacturers.  

One of the main areas of discussion was the energy sector and critical mineral supply chains. Continuing the resource diplomacy approach of former president Lee Myung-Bak, Yoon focused on strengthening energy relations with Turkmenistan, who have the fourth largest natural gas reserves globally, to supply South Korea’s growing gas demand. In the recent visit, South Korea agreed to increase its involvement in Turkmenistan’s energy projects in collaboration with the Turkmenistan State Gas Corporation, including the construction of a ‘fourth desulfurisation facility in the Galkynysh gas field.’ 

In terms of critical mineral access, South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kazakhstan, which will allow South Korean firms to ‘take part in exploration for lithium, chrome and uranium’ in Kazakhstan as South Korea aims to diversify supply chains. Consequently, this reflects the growing significance of Central Asia as a supplier of crucial materials for the global manufacturing of high-value goods such as semiconductor technology, especially for states like South Korea that have limited natural resources domestically.

A key implication for Central Asia is greater infrastructure and telecommunications development opportunities, as seen in South Korea’s increasing support for developing 5G capacity and smart city technology deployment in Turkmenistan. Furthermore, MoUs with Turkmenistan, agreeing to aid in improving Turkmenistan’s transportation system, demonstrate South Korea’s interest in deepening relations with the region via collaboration on economic and infrastructure development. Similarly in Uzbekistan, the visit saw South Korea’s first contract to export the KTX-Eum (Korail Class 150000) high-speed train technology. Uzbekistan Railways and Hyundai Rotem finalised an agreement for the purchase of electric trains for the Tashkent-Urgench-Khiva route in which South Korea will provide six high-speed trains valued at “USD195.7 million to Uzbekistan”. These agreements have shown South Korea’s aims to enhance its regional presence and access to raw materials by improving collaboration with the Central Asian states in the telecommunications technology and transportation infrastructure.   

Forecast

• Short-term

  • Central Asia’s geopolitical significance is continuously elevated as a supplier of crucial natural resources needed to manufacture high-value goods. As a growing semiconductor manufacturer, South Korea’s interest in the region is further demonstrated in the plans to increase engagement via the planned inaugural Korea-Central Asia Summit in 2025. 

• Medium-term

  • South Korea’s growing involvement in Central Asian energy, transportation and telecommunications sectors is highly likely to aid in the region’s economic development and interconnectivity improvements if the projects are completed. 

• Long-term

  • While South Korea aims to provide an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the new K-Silk Road Initiative, in line with Central Asia’s multi-vector foreign policy approach, it is unlikely that South Korea’s project will replace or significantly weakness the BRI’s well-established regional presence as South Korea’s initiative lacks the scale and capacity to outcompete the BRI.