조동호는 이화여대 통일학연구원 원장이자 북한학과 교수이다. 한국개발연구원(KDI)에서 16년 동안 수석연구위원과 북한경제팀장을 지냈다. 2017년부터 2020년까지 국가안보전략연구원 원장을 역임했으며, 한국수출입은행 북한･동북아개발연구센터 소장, 동아시아연구원 북한연구센터장, 대통령직속 민주평화통일자문회의 상임위원, 대통령 직속 통일준비위원회 위원, 통일부 남북경제교류협력분과 정책자문위원장 등을 지냈다. 조동호 교수는 북한 관련 조선일보, 동아일보, 중앙일보 등 주요 신문사에 정기적으로 칼럼을 기고하고 있다.

Dongho Jo is a Professor of North Korean Studies and President of Ewha Institute for Unification Studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. Before joining the university in 2007, he had worked at Korea Development Institute for 16 years as a senior fellow and director of North Korean Economic Studies. He had served as the President of the Institute for National Security Strategy for 2017 to 2020. Previously, he had held numerous positions including the Director of the Korea Eximbank Research Institute for North Korea and Northeast Asia Development, the Director of Center for North Korean Studies at the East Asia Institute, a member of the Advisory Council on Democratic and Peaceful Unification for the President of Korea, a member of the Presidential Committee on Unification Preparation, the Chairman of Advisory Committee for Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation of Ministry of Unification, etc. He had also been writing columns on North Korea regularly for major newspapers such as the Chosun-ilbo, Donga-ilbo, and Joongang Daily.