In this 22nd year of South Korean-Mongolian bilateral diplomatic relations, prospects for economic and trade ties – particularly in the fields of civil nuclear cooperation, natural resource development, rail transportation, and construction—are vibrant and expanding. South Korea is Mongolia’s third largest trading partner, with bilateral trade volume amounting to $230 million in 2011, an 85-fold increase from $2.71 million in 1990. Mongolia is a landlocked country covering an area of 1.56 million square kilometers, and the 17th largest country in the world with a small and young population—only about 2.8 million in 2010, two-thirds under the age of 35.2 Today the nation has a $10 billion economy, two-thirds of which comes from foreign investment, mostly in its mineral resources.