Lee departs for Argentina after summit with Kast in Chile

Korean President Lee Jae Myung, left, shakes hands with Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast at the presidential palace in Santiago, Thursday (local time). Yonhap

SANTIAGO — President Lee Jae Myung departed for Argentina on Thursday after wrapping up his visit to Chile, where he held a summit with Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast to discuss cooperation in trade and critical minerals.

During their summit earlier Thursday, Lee and Kast agreed to reactivate a joint committee to discuss ways to enhance bilateral trade, including by modernizing their free trade agreement.

They also agreed to pursue "mutually beneficial and future-oriented" cooperation in critical mineral supply chains, the defense industry, infrastructure and public security.

Lee is now en route to Buenos Aires, the final stop in his ongoing three-nation South America tour, which also included a state visit to Brazil.

In Buenos Aires, Lee is scheduled to hold a summit with Argentine President Javier Milei and meet with members of the Korean community on Friday.