IFES Professor Eul-Chul Lim

As of 2024, he is an associate professor(special tenured professor) at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University. He served or is serving as a member of the preparatory committee for the 2018 inter-Korean summit, a policy advisor to the Cheong Wa Dae National Security Office, Ministry of Unification, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defense, Ministy of Foreign Affairs, National Assembly and National Human Rights Commission, and a standing member of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council. He has also written extensively on North Korean issues, in conjunction with policy consultation projects. In 2020, he was awarded the Order of the Magnolia in recognition of his contributions to the establishment of a peaceful and prosperous Korean Peninsula.

His research interests include North Korean politics and economy, inter-Korean relations, North Korea-U.S., North Korea-China, and North Korea-Russia relations. His books include <<Self-Reliance in the Kim Jong-un Era: Succession and Change>>, <<Multilayered Analysis and Understanding of North Korean Disinformation>>, <<Understanding Global Peace and Korean Unification>>, and << Kim Jong-un's Leadership>>. <<Kaesong Industrial Complex: History, Pending Issues, and Outlook>>, <<A Dialogue with an Axis of Evil: Politics of Nuclear, Missile Negotiations between U.S. and North Korea>>. His major papers include "Kim Jong-un's Declaration of Nuclear Power Policy: Background, Features, and Implications," "An Examination of the Spillover Effects of North Korea's COVID-19 Emergency Prevention Measures," "An Examination of North Korea's Regional Balanced Development Strategy and the 'City and County Development Law,'" and "An Examination of North Korean Residents' Tax Burden," among others.

He received Ph.D. in International Politics from Kyungnam University in 2003. Since then, he has been a research professor at the Institute of Far Eastern Affairs at Kyungnam University, a lecturer at University of North Korean Studies, Korea University, Hanyang University, Chung-Ang University, and a visiting scholar at Georgetown University in the U.S. Prior to joining IFES, He worked as a specialist in the Department of North Korea in the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) and a major South Korean daily newspaper. He has regularly appeared or been interviewed on YTN, a Korean news channel, and VOA, among others, and is frequently interviewed by major domestic and foreign media.