Amb. Shin Bongkil is a visiting professor at the Graduate School of Int’l Studies(GSIS) of Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea. He had served as the inaugural Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat of China, Japan, and Korea (2011-2013) and the President of the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy.. Since joining the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1978, he was mainly involved in issues related to North Korea, China and Japan and visited North Korea several times during the KEDO (The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization) mission. His latest posts include Special Advisor at the Office of Planning for the North Korean Light-Water Reactor Project (2002-2003), Spokesperson for the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2003-2004), Minister at the Korea Embassy in Beijing, China (2004-2007), Ambassador to Jordan (2007-2010). He also served as Ambassador for International Economic Cooperation (2010-2011) and Ambassador for Northeast Asian Regional Cooperation (2013-2014) in the Korean Foreign Ministry. Amb. Shin graduated from Seoul National University with a B.A. in international relations, and was the editor-in-chief of the University Weekly Newspaper. He studied Chinese at Beijing University and received his M.A. and Ph.D. in North Korean studies from the University of North Korean Studies in Korea.