3 CCP officials fired for leaking info on DPRK

Satoshi Saeki Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

Three Chinese Communist Party officials were forced to resign earlier this year for leaking information on North Korea to South Korea, sources in Beijing said Saturday.

The three, who worked in the Internal Liaison Department of the party's Central Committee and likely included a North Korea section chief, allegedly leaked classified information on China-North Korea relations to South Korea's intelligence agency, the sources said.

Tan Jialin, then assistant head of the department, was demoted to deputy secretary general of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a government-affiliated think tank, for his failure to properly supervise the three, according to the sources.

Tan's position at the department was equivalent to that of an assistant minister.

Although details of the leaked information are not known, it may have included highly classified information on North Korea's nuclear development as well as contingency plans for the Korean Peninsula, according to the sources.

The Internal Liaison Department of the party's Central Committee is tasked with promoting contact with foreign political parties. It has particularly close ties with North Korea's Workers' Party of Korea.

The department has an overwhelming amount of information on North Korea, surpassing even that maintained by China's Foreign Ministry. It was for this reason the department was targeted by South Korean spies, the sources said.