On December 6, Secretary-General LIM Byung-jin met with a delegation from Jilin Province who visited Gyeongju to attend the NEAR International Forum 2023 and the 14th Subcommittee on Economy and Humanities Exchange.

Mr. Lim extended a warm welcome to LV Dayu, director of the Cultural Exchange Division at Jilin People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and officials from the China-ROK (Changchun) International Cooperation Demonstration Zone. He expressed his gratitude to Jilin Province for its active participation in various NEAR events this year. 

Highlighting the magnitude of the current international forum as the largest ever, with 38 NEAR members from five Northeast Asian countries, Mr. Lim encouraged Jilin to play an active role in the upcoming NEAR Subcommittee on International Exchange of Human Resources scheduled for the next year. He emphasized the importance of utilizing the NEAR platform for collaboration. 

In response, Mr. Lv acknowledged Mr. Lim’s significant contributions in fostering exchanges between Jilin and Korea, particularly citing his role in establishing the China-ROK (Changchun) International Cooperation Demonstration Zone, during his tenure as consul-general in Shenyang. Mr. Lv expressed a desire to further engage with local governments in Korea and other Northeast Asian countries through the NEAR platform. Additionally, he sought NEAR's support for the upcoming "30th Anniversary of Jilin-Gangwon Friendship Exchange" event scheduled for next year.