Visit of H.E. SHIN Bongkil Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India on 24 th December 2019.

H.E. SHIN Bongkil Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to India

Amb. Shin Bongkil is a career diplomat. He joined the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1978 and has a long and distinguished career as a diplomat spanning over almost four decades. During this period, has held many senior diplomatic postings both at headquarters and missions abroad. Some of his recent postings 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 Korean Embassy in Beijing, China (2004-2007), Ambassador to Jordan (2007-2010), Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) 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 (2014-15).

Amb. Shin Bongkil retired from the Foreign Ministry in 2015. After the retirement, he taught China and Korean peninsula issues at Graduate School of International Studies in Yonsei University. He was appointed as Ambassador to India in January 2018 after Korea’s new Moon Jae-in Government took office in May 2017.

Amb. Shin has a keen interest in regional affairs of the East Asia. Given his expertise in the regional affairs, he has been involved many times in issues related to North Korea, China and Japan. He also visited North Korea several times during the KEDO (The Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization) mission to solve the North Korean Nuclear issue.

Amb. Shin graduated from Seoul National University with a B.A. in international relations. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the University’s 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.