Ambassador Shin is a career diplomat currently serving as the secretary-general of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat. Since joining the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) in 1978, he was mainly involved in North Korea, China, and Japan related issues as the director of the Inter-Korea Policy Division at MOFAT (1992-1995), special advisor at the Office of Planning for the Light-Water Reactor Project (2002-2003), first secretary to the Korean Embassy in Tokyo (1987-1990), counsellor/consul general (1996-1998), and minister (2004-2007) to the Korean Embassy in Beijing. His latest posts include spokesperson of the Korean Foreign Ministry (2003-2004), ambassador to Jordan (2007-2010), and ambassador for International Economic Cooperation at MOFAT (2010-2011). Ambassador Shin received his B.A. in international relations from Seoul National University and was the editor-in-chief of University Weekly Newspaper. He studied Chinese at Peking University and received his M.A. from the University of North Korean Studies in Korea.