Dr. Hyun obtained his Ph.D degree from the University of Tokyo, majoring in political science. His main research area is Russian and Eurasian International Politics, North Korea-Russia Relations, Conflict, and Terrorism. He became a senior researcher at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade from 1994 to 1999, and he was a HK research professor at Hanyang University from 2009 to 2014, and a policy advisor at the National Intelligence Service from 2008 to 2014. Also, he was a research director at the Korean Association of Slavic Studies in 2013 and the Korean Association of Eurasian Studies in 2014. Currently, he is a research fellow at the International and Strategic Studies division of the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU).