The Arctic Ocean contains about 25% of the Earth's natural resources and oil, which are still not found.
On the other hand, the US feels that the Arctic Ocean is international waters and the resources should be used by all countries.
The Arctic has become increasingly important to South Korea because of the possibility of quicker shipping routes between Europe and Asia as the ice in the region continues to melt.
Currently, it takes about 24 days for a South Korean container ship to arrive in Europe.
[citation needed] However, these trade routes can only be used in the summer because almost the whole ocean freezes in winter.