Within the context of global climate change, achieving sustainable development in Northeast Asia will require in-depth research into the key scientific issues from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. This paper assesses that the main issues to be addressed are: (i) researches on the structure, function and differentiation disciplines of the vast and complex regional resources-environment-socio-economic system that is Northeast Asia and on how the region can respond and evolve. (ii) Failing to find a mode for sustainable development is one of the most serious restrictive factors to development in Northeast Asia, (iii) Development of cross-border regional socio-economic models for sustainable development is essential. And (iv) the strategies above require cross-border technical support platforms to guarantee a consistent approach to regional sustainability in Northeast Asia.