The Vietnamese Party and State have consistently treasured and wished to enhance the traditional friendship with Mongolia across areas, meeting the interests and aspiration of the two countries' people and contributing to maintaining peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world, State President Luong Cuong said on January 13.

Hosting a reception for visiting Chairman of the Presidential Office of Mongolia Gombojav Zandanshatar in Hanoi, the Vietnamese leader congratulated the East Asian country on its achievements over the recent past, with improved local livelihoods and increasing position and prestige in the international arena that have contributed to concretising its “Vision-2050” and the “New Recovery Policy”.

President Cuong expressed Vietnam’s enduring gratitude for Mongolia’s support during the national struggle for independence in the past as well as the development efforts nowadays, noting Mongolia’s recognition of Vietnam as its “third neighbour” and primary partner in Southeast Asia.

He welcomed the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two Presidential Offices, describing this as a significant move to foster their close collaboration as well as the comprehensive partnership between the two countries in the coming time.

The two sides should bring the signed documents into full play, particularly those on economy, trade, investment, security, defence, education, and cooperation at local level, he said, suggesting them continue support for each other at international forums.

The President took the occasion to ask the Mongolian side to continue creating favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community, helping them better integrate into the host nation and promote their role in bridging the two countries’ friendship. Given the sound bilateral ties, the Vietnamese Party, State, and people stand ready to share experience with Mongolia in the areas that Vietnam boast strengths and the latter have demand.

Gombojav Zandanshatar, for his part, congratulated Vietnam on the success it has carved out over the past four decades of Doi moi (renewal) and expressed his hope that Vietnam will achieve its goal of becoming a high-income developed nation soon.

He said he hopes that the two countries, building upon their 70-year relationship, will maintain the exchange of delegations at all levels to improve political trust while bolstering collaboration across all areas such as economy, trade, investment, security and defence that are in line with their people’s interests./.

Opposition parties led by the Liberte Party have called for further protests at Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar through Jan. 22. Activists are denouncing the ruling coalition over several issues pertaining to economic, environmental, and traffic management policies. On Jan. 11, around 1,000 people participated in a related demonstration at Sukhbaatar Square, resulting in traffic disruptions along Genghis Avenue and the cancellation of several bus routes.

Attendees may march to nearby key government buildings in the vicinity, such as Government Palace, as well as residences and offices of the president and prime minister. Additional gatherings, including counterprotests by pro-government groups, may also occur at nearby public squares, parks, and thoroughfares. Anti-government rallies in recent years have seen high turnouts of several thousand people and sporadic altercations between activists and police.

Authorities will likely heighten security in Ulanbaatar ahead of possible demonstrations through Jan. 22. Checkpoints at entry points of Ulanbaatar, vehicle and personnel checks, gathering bans, and localized public movement restrictions in key areas are possible. Clashes may occur, especially if protesters attempt to breach security cordons, defy any official bans, or confront rival groups. Violence could also break out if police attempt to carry out mass arrests. Temporary road closures, curtailment of public transport services, and diversions are likely to affect access roads to the main rally site. Increased congestion on roadways and public buses is probable as attendees arrive at and leave the venue. Localized business closures may occur.

Prime Minister of Mongolia Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Mongolia Igawahara Masaru on January 10, 2025.

Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene emphasized the highly developing Special Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity, “people-centered” relations and cooperation between Mongolia and Japan, which share common values ​​of democracy. Briefly introducing the policies and measures implemented by the Mongolian Government, the Prime Minister noted that Mongolia attaches great importance to expanding and developing mutually beneficial cooperation with Japan, an important “third neighbor,” and expressed commitment to further intensify high-level visits and dialogue between the two countries.

The Premier requested Japan's cooperation in projects on establishing a new satellite city in the Khushig Valley, improving the infrastructure of Ulaanbaatar City, and reducing the city's air and environmental pollution and traffic congestion. Within the framework of multilateral cooperation, the Prime Minister expressed the country’s interest in cooperating in the project to extract hydrogen from brown coal, which is being implemented by countries including Japan and Australia. Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene noted that the Mongolian Government is working to accelerate three transitions, namely high-tech artificial intelligence, green development, and human resources, and offered the Japanese Government to cooperate in these endeavors.

Ambassador Igawahara expressed his commitment to further consolidate the Special Strategic Partnership for Peace and Prosperity between Mongolia and Japan, and to focus on enriching relations in economy, infrastructure, and defense sectors with new content. The Ambassador expressed gratitude for the ratification of the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology within the framework of the Special Strategic Partnership between Mongolia and Japan.

Ambassador Igawahara noted that the Japanese Government decided to resume the long-term low-interest yen loan to Mongolia within the framework of the Official Development Assistance. The loan had been suspended in 2017, when Mongolia joined the International Monetary Fund Program.

The two sides agreed to prioritize the loans to expand the capacity of the Chinggis Khaan International Airport, which was jointly established by Mongolia and Japan. In addition, the two sides agreed to conduct detailed studies and further discussions on utilizing the concessional loans for the planned new satellite city project in Khushig Valley, infrastructure improvements in Ulaanbaatar, and other development projects.

TMK Energy’s Gurvantes XXXV coal seam gas project in Mongolia has all six of its pilot production wells flaring after the recent addition of three new wells, doubling the field’s gas outflow.

The new wells are gradually reducing water levels in line with the company’s water management plan, enabling gas breakthrough last week and the development of sufficient gas volume to carry a flare.

TMK says its gas flows remain pre-desorption in all wells for now and will remain in that non-commercial status until water is reduced to design levels, when all the wells will work together to continue pulling down reservoir pressure.

The company says it expects to reduce reservoir pressure and attain its targeted critical gas desorption point late in the current quarter or early in the next quarter.

Desorption pressure is an important parameter in modelling production from coal seam gas projects because it helps determine the pressure range at which gas can be efficiently extracted from the coal reservoir.

It is pleasing to see the new pilot production wells producing gas, which occurred at a time broadly in line, if not slightly ahead of, our expected timeframe. As expected, the total field production rate has more than doubled and we are clearly seeing the original three pilot wells being positively affected by the new wells now on production.

TMK Energy’s chief executive officer Dougal Ferguson

Ferguson said the latest developments further affirmed the project following its successful drilling campaign. The company now anticipates progress at the project will accelerate as it closes in on attaining the critical desorption pressure required before being able to materially increase gas flow rates over the coming months.

In a further boost to the company’s fortunes, mid-December last year saw TMK signing a memorandum of understanding with a German-owned and operated supplier of power generation equipment for a gas-fired power plant to be imported into its Gurvantes project at no cost to TMK.

This remarkable early-stage opportunity to generate power comes subject to TMK achieving minimum gas well production by June 30 this year, which would give it entry to a two-year gas sales agreement for up to 0.6 terajoules per day from the pilot well project.

On January 8, 2025, Prime Minister of Mongolia Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai submitted requests to Chairman of the State Great Khural of Mongolia Amarbayasgalan Dashzegve for the deliberation on additional financing for the Oil Refinery Project EPC-04 package and the draft Investment Agreement with the company "Orano Mining SAS."

Due to the economic crisis in recent years, the estimated cost for constructing the EPC-04 package of the Oil Refinery Project, including the main refinery facilities and oil processing cost, increased by approximately 30 percent compared to the 2018 feasibility study. The increase in costs was driven by the rise in materials, technical equipment prices, and additional requirements set by technology licensors. In this regard, the Ministry of Finance of Mongolia has submitted a request to finance the additional costs through a loan from India's EXIM Bank, which was approved. Thus, the request for deliberation of the loan agreement by the Parliament was submitted, noted Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene.

The draft Agreement with "Orano Mining SAS," the investor of "Badrakh Energy," will be reviewed and deliberated by the Parliament. If ratified, the Agreement will become the second-largest foreign direct investment agreement from a third-neighbor country. It is expected that foreign direct investment will increase, generating 520 billion MNT annually for the state and local budgets, and a total of 17.1 trillion MNT over the life of the project. Additionally, the Sovereign Wealth Fund will receive 61.5 billion MNT annually, and 2 trillion MNT over the project’s duration. The project is also expected to introduce new technology and create 1,600 jobs.

On January 8, 2025, Prime Minister of Mongolia Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai submitted the draft Resolution on Adopting the General Development Plan for Ulaanbaatar City until 2040 to Chairman of the State Great Khural of Mongolia Amarbayasgalan Dashzegve.

With the rapid growth of the capital’s population and the increasing activity in economy and society, Ulaanbaatar is facing challenges such as unplanned urban sprawl and environmental degradation which undermine citizens’ right to a safe and healthy living environment. In this regard, the project initiator presented the need to create and implement a new framework for urban planning. Prime Minister Oyun-Erdene emphasized that the General Development Plan until 2040 includes major projects to be implemented to address these issues.

Specifically, the Plan proposes to develop satellite cities and towns within the Ulaanbaatar metropolitan area, focusing on sectors such as culture, education, agriculture, food production, light industry, transport logistics, special economic zones, and tourism. It aims to create 193,000 new jobs and reduce the concentration in the capital. Moreover, the Plan outlines a shift from a single-centralized city model to a multi-centered urban structure, ensuring that public services are more accessible to the public.

As part of the General Development Plan, the “20-Minute City” concept will be incorporated, with plans to develop 14 new urban centers and sub-cities. Notably, the General Plan for Ulaanbaatar until 2040 has been developed and formulated since 2017.

India is expected to sign a preliminary agreement with Mongolia soon in the area of geology and exploration, a senior Indian government official with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Landlocked Mongolia is rich in deposits of copper and coking coal, and India is mostly dependent on imports to meet rising demand for the red metal used in power, construction and electrical vehicles as well as coking coal for steelmaking.

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“India’s cabinet has approved the MoU (memorandum of understanding) and both countries are expected to sign it soon,” the source said, declining to be identified as the deliberations are not yet public.

India’s federal mines ministry did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

Mongolia’s Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comments.

Companies such as Adani, Hindalco and Vedanta have expressed an interest in sourcing copper from Mongolia, the source said. All three companies did not respond to emails from Reuters seeking comment.

Both Indian and Mongolian officials are working out supply routes for Indian companies to source copper and coking coal, with India preferring the route from Vladivostok in Russia despite the longer distance, the official said.

“China is convenient but we prefer the route from Russia,” the official said.

Relations between Asian giants India and China were strained after a deadly military clash on their disputed border in 2020 but have been on the mend since they reached an agreement in October to pull back troops from their last two stand-off points in the western Himalaya mountains.

Unlike China, India has traditionally maintained close ties with Russia.

Resource-rich Mongolia can offer superior grades of coking coal, industry officials say.

In November, India’s JSW Steel and state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) were in talks with Mongolian authorities to import two shipments of coking coal, Reuters reported.

(By Neha Arora; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

Between July 2023 and December 2024, Insikt Group observed the Chinese state-sponsored group RedDelta targeting Mongolia, Taiwan, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Cambodia with an adapted infection chain to distribute its customized PlugX backdoor. The group used lure documents themed around the 2024 Taiwanese presidential candidate Terry Gou, the Vietnamese National Holiday, flood protection in Mongolia, and meeting invitations, including an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting. RedDelta likely compromised the Mongolian Ministry of Defense in August 2024 and the Communist Party of Vietnam in November 2024. The group conducted spearphishing targeting the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, but Insikt Group observed no evidence of successful compromise. From September to December 2024, RedDelta likely targeted victims in Malaysia, Japan, the United States, Ethiopia, Brazil, Australia, and India.

In late 2023, RedDelta evolved the first stage of its infection chain to leverage a Windows Shortcut (LNK) file likely delivered via spearphishing. In 2024, the group transitioned to using Microsoft Management Console Snap-In Control (MSC) files. Most recently, RedDelta used spearphishing links to prompt a victim to load an HTML file remotely hosted on Microsoft Azure. Since July 2023, RedDelta has consistently used the Cloudflare content distribution network (CDN) to proxy command-and-control (C2) traffic, which enables the group to blend in with legitimate CDN traffic and complicates victim identification. Other state-sponsored groups, including Russia’s BlueAlpha, have similarly leveraged Cloudflare to evade detection.

RedDelta’s activities align with Chinese strategic priorities, focusing on governments and diplomatic organizations in Southeast Asia, Mongolia, and Europe. The group’s Asia-focused targeting in 2023 and 2024 represents a return to the group’s historical focus after targeting European organizations in 2022. RedDelta’s targeting of Mongolia and Taiwan is consistent with the group’s past targeting of groups seen as threats to the Chinese Communist Party’s power.

About RedDelta:

RedDelta has been active since at least 2012 and has focused on targeting Southeast Asia and Mongolia. The group has routinely adapted its targeting in response to global geopolitical events. RedDelta targeted the Vatican and other Catholic organizations with PlugX before 2021 talks between China and the Vatican. The has group compromised law enforcement and government entities in India, a government organization in Indonesia, and other targets across Myanmar, Hong Kong, and Australia.

In 2022, RedDelta shifted toward increased targeting of European government and diplomatic entities following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This activity used an infection chain that began by delivering an archive file (ZIP, RAR, or ISO), which was likely delivered via spearphishing. The file contained a Windows Shortcut (LNK) file disguised with a double extension (such as .doc.lnk) and a Microsoft Word icon. Hidden folders within the archive contained three files used to complete dynamic-link library (DLL) search order hijacking: a legitimate binary, a malicious DLL loader, and an encrypted PlugX payload that was ultimately loaded into memory. User execution of the Shortcut file led to DLL search order hijacking. In November 2022, RedDelta evolved its tactics to stage the ISO file on a threat actor-controlled domain.

In March 2023, Insikt Group identified RedDelta targeting Mongolia using a similar infection chain that started with a container file (RAR, ZIP, ISO) consisting of an LNK file that triggered a DLL search order hijacking triad located within a hidden nested subdirectory. Decoy documents included an invitation from the World Association of Mongolia and a document claiming to be a BBC news interview about Tibetan Buddhism and Mongolia. RedDelta targeted:

Members of multiple Mongolian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including a human rights and pro-democracy NGO focused on the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Mongolian Buddhist activists in Mongolia and Japan

Academic professionals in Mongolia and Japan

Developers of two Mongolian mobile applications

Mitigations:

To detect and mitigate RedDelta activity, organizations should:

Use YARA and Sigma rules provided by Insikt Group to detect RedDelta Windows Installer (MSI), DLL, and LNK files (see below).

Configure intrusion detection systems (IDS), intrusion prevention systems (IPS), and other network defense mechanisms to alert on or block connection attempts from external IP addresses and domains associated with RedDelta (see below).

Keep software and applications — particularly operating systems, antivirus software, and core system utilities — up to date.

Filter email correspondence and scrutinize attachments for malware.

Conduct regular system backups and store them offline and offsite to ensure they are inaccessible via the network.

Adhere to strict compartmentalization of company-sensitive data, institute role-based access, and limit company-wide data access.

Deploy client-based host logging and intrusion detection capabilities to identify and thwart attacks early.

Prevent threat actors from bypassing security by disabling outdated authentication methods.

Implement tools like network IDS, NetFlow collection, host logging, and web proxy, alongside manual monitoring of detection sources.

Practice network segmentation and ensure special protections exist for sensitive information, such as multifactor authentication, and restricted accesss.

Leverage the Recorded Future® Third-Party Intelligence module and Threat Intelligence Browser Extension for real-time monitoring and prioritized vulnerability patching.

Review public guidance (1, 2, 3, 4) and Insikt Group’s “Charting China’s Climb as a Leading Global Cyber Power” report for comprehensive recommendations for mitigating Chinese advanced persistent threat activity more broadly.

Outlook:

Insikt Group anticipates that RedDelta will continue targeting organizations worldwide with its customized PlugX backdoor, focusing on Southeast Asia and China’s periphery, including Mongolia and Taiwan. Likely targets include governments, NGOs, activists, and religious organizations. RedDelta has continually evolved its infection chain and is anticipated to continue doing so in the future in response to major geopolitical developments.

To read the entire analysis, click here to download the report as a PDF.