South Korea woos African nations over critical mineral supplies

SEOUL -- South Korea is wooing African countries in a bid to secure minerals essential to producing batteries, electric vehicles and smartphones, as the high-tech economy tries to curb its heavy reliance on China for lithium, graphite and rare earths.

President Yoon Suk Yeol is hosting South Korea's first summit with African countries, inviting leaders and delegations from 48 members of the African Union. They agreed at the two-day Korea-Africa Summit that ended on Wednesday to launch the Korea-Africa Critical Minerals Dialogue as an institutional foundation for enhancing cooperation.