South Korea and the United States have launched a joint research project on extracting rare earth elements, for which they will send their scientists to Vietnam.

On Thursday, Seoul's foreign ministry announced that the South Korean government and the U.S. State Department have agreed to pursue this collaborative research under the U.S. Embassy Science Fellows Program (ESFP).

Within this program, the two sides agreed to conduct joint research on the technology to extract rare earth elements from coal ash in Vietnam. 

Starting this month, scientific experts from both countries will conduct collaborative research at the South Korea-US ESFP global hub center in Hanoi, Vietnam, as well as in their respective home countries, for a duration of three months. The Vietnamese government has also agreed to actively cooperate in this research.

The ESFP places technical experts at American embassies overseas to provide expertise, guidance and assistance in the domains of environment, science, technology, and health. 

Seoul's foreign ministry said that the joint research will contribute to the Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) and global efforts to secure a stable supply for critical energy minerals. MSP is a transnational association whose members seek to secure a supply of raw materials for their economies.