Secretary-General Kim Ok-chae and the NEAR Secretariat staff attended and supported the Third Korea-Russia Regional Cooperation Forum as a cooperative body. The forum took place in the NEAR chair member, Ulsan Metropolitan City, South Korea, from November 3 to 5. Among NEAR member regional governments, 12 South Korean members, including Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, and five Russian members, including Sakhalin Region, participated in the forum offline.

In the bilateral talks between Ulsan Metropolitan City, South Korea, and the Republic of Sakha, Russia, the Republic of Sakha, the 13^th chair region, handed over the NEAR chair flag to Ulsan Metropolitan City which had been elected as the 14^th chair region. As the chair regions, they discussed ways to implement joint projects to develop exchange and cooperation between regions in Northeast Asia.

Furthermore, the Secretariat arranged bilateral talks between NEAR member regions. It provided interpretation services for talks between Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, South Korea, and Russian members, including the Republic of Sakha, Sakhalin Region, and the Republic of Buryatia, respectively.    

The Korea-Russia Regional Cooperation Forum was established in 2017 under an agreement by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Russian President Vladimir Putin for the purpose of coming up with a platform for exchange and cooperation between regional governments of both nations and to promote joint growth. Sakhalin Region has been confirmed as the venue of the fourth forum which will be held next year.