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Chinese Envoy Gave N. Korea Data to South, Officials Say Diplomat Removed, Accused Of Betraying State Secrets By Edward Cody Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, September 13, 2007; Page A12 BEIJING, Sept. 12 -- For years, Ambassador Li Bin was China's go-to diplomat for the tense Korean Peninsula. After studies in North Korea, Li had served several tours in the Chinese embassies in Pyongyang and Seoul. Fluent in Korean and gregarious in nature, he also struck up an unusually personal relationship with Kim Jong Il, the secretive North Korean leader. It turns out, according to knowledgeable Chinese officials, that Li...

China's Ex-Envoy to Korea Accused of Leaks Former Chinese ambassador to Korea Li Bin has been accused by China of disclosing state secrets related to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s visit to China last January, according to a report Wednesday in Hong Kong's Ming Pao Daily News. According to the article, the accusations against Li may be related to reports on Kim's plans to visit China that appeared in the South Korean and Japanese press. Typically, Kim's visits to China are not disclosed by the Chinese government until after he has left, and then only in passing. The Hong Kong...

Ex-Chinese Envoy to Korea Held for Espionage Former Chinese ambassador to Korea Li Bin Former Chinese ambassador to Korea Li Bin has been detained and questioned by Chinese police on charges of leaking state secrets, it emerged over the weekend. Li was the envoy in Seoul from September 2001 to August 2005. After returning to China, he was ambassador in charge of North Korean nuclear affairs. Li was suddenly summoned to Beijing last December while serving as deputy mayor of Weihai in China’s eastern Shandong Province and his name disappeared from the list of nominees for deputy mayor. As...