Military intelligence officer leaks information to China

A U.S. Army non-commissioned officer with top-secret security clearance pleaded guilty on Tuesday to leaking military secrets to a contact in Hong Kong. Sgt. Korbein Schultz served as an intelligence analyst and shared sensitive documents with a contact he suspected was associated with the Chinese government, the Justice Department said. He pleaded guilty to three charges of conspiring to leak military information, plus a charge of bribing a public official. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 2025. He could face decades in prison.

What kind of information did China get? The Hong Kong contact asked for sensitive information on missile defense and mobile artillery systems, according to the Justice Department. The soldier transmitted unclassified documents of a sensitive and restricted nature relating to rocket, missile, and artillery systems, and military satellites. Schultz shared documents about the U.S. military in South Korea and the Philippines, and military lessons learned from the Ukraine-Russia war to apply in the defense of Taiwan, the Justice Department said.

The Hong Kong contact also received documents on Air Force tactics and procedures, tactics to counter drone attacks, and U.S. information on Chinese military tactics and preparedness. Schultz sent a manual on intercontinental ballistic missile systems operations. Information about military aircraft, including the U-2, B-52, and F-22A, was also illegally shared.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report on the United States and Japan bolstering military cooperation in response to China last month.