Introduction:
Only recently, CNN and BBC had the news that a high-ranking officer of China's People's Liberation Army PLA held a lecture at National Defence University. During his lecture he spent about ten minutes to mention important cases of foreign espionage on China that were at least partly unknown in the West. These ten minutes he spoke happened to be recorded by some unknown witness and found their way to community networks serving China and the rest of the world. It is namely the most astonishing spy case of a Chinese diplomat that made me carry out further investigations on the web bringing about some additional facts. By the way, all translations have been made by me:
金一南少将是中国军方最高学府国防大学战略研究所的所长。 博士生导师金一南教授作了国防教育报告。 金一南少将对听课的学员们发表讲话时说，一些因腐败罪名而受到审判的官员实际上是犯了间谍罪。
Major general Jin Yi Nan is the director of China's highest institution for military studies, the Institute for Strategic Research at National Defence University. A supervisor for [graduate] students studying for a doctorate, Professor Jin Yi Nan gave an instructive lecture on national defence. In front of students attending his speech, major general Jin Yi Nan said that some officials, being accused and brought to trial, really committed the crime of espionage.
BBC - CHINESE SERVICE (August 29, 2011):
金一南少将披露的案件包括前中国驻韩国大使李滨以及中国核工业集团总经理康日新向国外出卖情报的事件。
The cases disclosed by major general Jin Yi Nan include the incident of former Chinese ambassador to [South] Korea Li Bin, as well as that of top manager Kang Ri from China's nuclear industry group and who freshly sold information to foreign countries.
李滨向韩国方面出卖机密，导致中国在朝鲜核问题上作出妥协。
金一南说，李滨因腐败罪名被判处7年有期徒刑是因为间谍事实令人很尴
尬。
金一南在视频中反问，“整个世界上哪个国家的大使为别国当间谍？”
Li Bin sold secrets to the [South] Korean side, leading China to issue a compromise in the question of [North] Korea's nuclear [activity]. Jin Yi Nan said: Li Bin, was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment for a crime of corruption because a spy actually makes the people very embarrassed. Jin Yi Nan, in the video sequence [distributed], put the rhetorical question: "What country in the entire world has an ambassador who becomes a spy for another country ?"
Above:
Header of website for the Chinese embassy in Seoul/South Korea.
As this spy case of former ambassador Li Bin is highly unusual and rather interesting, here are all essential dates on the proceeding of his career. I guess, these informations I found on a Chinese website will make it easier to understand how a high-ranking member of China's ruling party could ever come to his decision to feed foreign authorities with top secret facts on China's negotiation strategy in the frame of talks about North Korea. Maybe, there is no money involved in that mysterious case but the firm will of an insider to bring an end to all those long-lasting negotiations about Kim Jong Il's "private lawn" that don't lead to anything but help the lunatic dictator (image below) survive just another year.
CHINESE WEBSITE (undated):
李滨（1956年7月－），北京人，中国外交官，曾任中国驻韩国大使，后因向韩国提供情报而被捕。 李滨早年曾赴朝鲜留学，毕业于金日成综合大学。1977年进入外交部工作，历任中国驻朝鲜大使馆职员，外交部亚洲司科员、随员、三秘，驻朝鲜大使馆三秘、二秘等职。1991年升任亚洲司处长。1994年任中国驻韩国大使馆参赞，1997年再次来到朝鲜担任公使衔参赞。2001年出任中国驻韩国特命全权大使。期间他被韩国情报部门吸收为间谍。2005年至2006年间任朝鲜半岛事务大使，同时兼任亚洲司副司长。2006年5月起挂职担任山东省威海市副市长。同年12月，被中国国家安全部门传讯调查，后被“双规”。2007年1月，在调查后被分配到外交部
下的中国国际问题研究所任研究员。此后，他因经济案等原因被判处有期徒刑七年。 另外据《华盛顿邮报》的报道，李滨与朝鲜领导人金正日私交甚密。
Born in July 1956, Li Bin attended school in [North] Korea in his early years. Having finished school, he studied at Kim Il Song University. In 1977 he began to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he succeeded on his post as a staff member at the Chinese embassy in North Korea: Section member of the Foreign Ministry's Asian department, attaché, third secretary, third secretary at the embassy in North Korea [and] second secretary. 1991 he was promoted as head of the Asian department and became counsellor at the Chinese embassy in South Korea in 1994. In 1997 he returned to North Korea as a counsellor with the rank of a minister. In 2001 he [finally] became China's "ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary" for South Korea. During that time he became a spy of the South Korean intelligence department. Between 2005 and 2006 he became "ambassador for affairs relating to the Korean peninsular" and concurrently held the post of a deputy chief of the Asian department.
.....
It was in 2006 that Li Bin finally became subject of an inquiry on espionage and was assigned the job of a research fellow at China's Institute for the Research of International Questions until he received a seven years' sentence in 2007.
The following quotation of an official military source is confirming that Jin Yi Nan's revealing of the facts was really intentionally made:
CHNMILITARY.COM (August 31, 2011):
中国国防大学教授金一南少将日前作题为“苦难辉煌”演讲时， 罕有地大谈近年被外国情报机构收买，出卖情报的中共官员近十人叛变案。这是中国军方首次公开证实这些谍案，部分案情更是首度披露。
The day before, professor major general Jin Yi Nan from National Defence University said in his lecture on "When suffering becomes glorious": Rarely recent years' talk was about foreign intelligence structures' bribery and the treason cases of almost ten officials within China's Communist Party that were selling [national] secrets. This is the first public confirmation of those spy cases by China's military defence. Part of the cases' conditions are even more considered for being revealed in the first place.
In order to underline my estimation of politics being involved in that unusual spy case rather than bribery, I have added some information on North Korea's cyberwar against its Southern neighbour quoted from different sources. There is clear evidence that North Korea is trying to carry out a severe blow against the hated West, using its trained cyberwarriors and who are working abroad in China, Russia and other countries.
NEW TANG DYNASTY TV, June 14, 2011
(An anticommunist Chinese source):
韩：朝鲜黑客攻击会令国家部分瘫痪
South Korea: Hackers from North Korea
can paralyse part of the country
【新唐人2011年6月15日讯】韩国国防部长金宽镇星期二（6月14日）表示，朝鲜黑客发动的网络攻击可能会令韩国部分处于瘫痪。
韩国国防部长金宽镇金宽镇在首尔召开的会议上表示，本月早些时候朝鲜向韩国现役和前军官发送了带有病毒的电子邮件。
New Tang Dynasty, June 15, 2011:
South Korea's Minister for Defence Kim ... ... said on Tuesday June 14: The cyber attack launched by North Korean hackers might cause part of the country to be paralysed.
South Korea's Defence Minister stated at the opening of a conference: Early this month, at certain times, North Korea transmitted virus infected emails towards active and retired [army] officers in South Korea.
「朝鲜的网络威胁一直在持续，他们现在攻击我们军官们的电子信箱，这种威胁还在持续，将来他们如果攻入我们网络防卫脆弱的部门，会给我们社会带来混乱，并令我们国家部分处于瘫痪。」
" North Korea imposes a continuous and sustained threat on the internet. Now, they are attacking our [army] officers' mailboxes. This kind of threat is a sustained one. In the future, if they broke into our weak department for internet security, they could cause future chaos to our society and [even] bring parts of our country to a standstill. "
上个月韩国一家银行的网络遭到黑客攻击，数百万客户在一周多的时间内无法使用银行信用卡，韩国检察官说发动攻击的黑客是朝鲜政府支持的专家，他们此前曾对韩国政府和公司发动攻击，朝鲜对此予以否认。
In the first period of this month [i.e. June 2011] the network of a South Korean bank encountered a cyberattack. More than one time, one million customer accounts were unable to use the bank's credit check. According to the South Korean public procurator, those hackers who launched the attack are specialists supported by the North Korean government and who had launched [similar] attacks directed against the South Korean government and [private] companies already before. This is being denied by North Korea.
知底的人也得认为的是：德国的公司“ KCC 欧洲“ (柏林)是朝鲜的同伙在互联网工程。(参考：柏林的日报“日镜“ 12/2003) - Ulysses
AL-JAZEERA, June 20, 2011
(In-depth report / English):
North Korea recruits hackers at school
As South Korea blames North Korea for a recent slew of cyberattacks, two defectors share their experiences, as a hacker and trainer of "cyberwarriors" in the reclusive communist country: Original Article
Below: Location of North Korea's cyberwar unit in Pyongyang.
