The U.S. Department of Justice announced that an intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army has been arrested on charges of providing China with military information related to national defense. A statement from the department said, "Sergeant Korbein Schultz, who holds a security clearance that allows him access to highly classified information, was detained at Fort Campbell military base on the border between Kentucky and Tennessee."
The indictment does not specify the country to which Schultz is said to have been supplying sensitive military information, but media reports have identified it as China. According to the indictment, Schultz has provided a contact in Hong Kong with information, documents, maps, and photographs related to U.S. national defense since June 2022.
The Department of Justice pointed out that "the information includes potential U.S. plans in case of a military attack on Taiwan." It also involved documents related to fighter jets, helicopters, hypersonic equipment, and the HIMARS missile system, as well as studies on the U.S. and Chinese militaries. Schultz is reported to have received a total of $42,000 for this information.
When asked about the arrest of Schultz and a Chinese software engineer apprehended this week on charges of stealing AI-related technology from Google, Beijing stated it was "not aware of the specific circumstances" of the two cases. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning emphasized regarding the Google case that "China always attaches great importance to intellectual property rights and actively protects them."
