03-10-08 President Lee Myung-bak met Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and agreed to import 7.5 mm tons of natural gas from eastern Siberia each year for the next 30 years through a gas pipeline passing through Vladivostok and North Korea.
The two leaders also agreed to fuse Russia's abundant natural gas resources and South Korea's cutting-edge petrochemical production to create a liquefied natural gas plant in Russia's far east, operated jointly by the two countries, whose products are marketed through joint efforts.

South Korea depends on natural gas to cover 15 % of its total energy needs. Natural gas is the fourth-largest source of energy following oil, coal and nuclear power. The country imports almost all of its natural gas from Qatar, Oman and other Middle Eastern countries and Indonesia.
Korea spent $ 13 bn last year alone to import natural gas. That's almost half of the $ 29 bn trade surplus. If this natural gas accord is implemented smoothly, Korea will gain a cheaper and more stable source of natural gas, which will account for 30 % of the country's annual consumption by mid 2010.

Russia holds the largest reserves of natural gas in the world, with 27 % of the total amount, and is also the world's largest exporter of the resource. Korea has the potential to become a major purchaser of natural gas and has ample experience in producing petrochemical and LNG products. If the strong points of both countries are integrated properly, there a chance to create a new market in the Asia Pacific region that could lead global demand.
But objectively speaking, Korea almost missed the boat in terms of the race among Northeast Asian countries in securing energy resources. Since 2000, Japan poured yen 1 tn into crude pipeline businesses in eastern Siberia. In 2005, China acquired a 25 % stake in an oil field in Sakhalin to form a long-term supply deal with Russia.

The very existence of a country in the 21st century is said to hinge on stable access to energy sources. Previous South Korean administrations, going way back, have noisily mentioned "Sakhalin oil projects" and "Far East Russian oil," but nothing had been cemented in terms of deals.
The government must come up with detailed follow-up to ensure the smooth flow of natural gas following this summit agreement.