Federal prosecutors charged Korbein Schultz with conspiracy to disclose national defense information, exporting defense articles and technical data without a license, and bribery of a public official, the U.S. Justice Department said in a press release.

Schultz, who was arrested at Kentucky's Fort Campbell, was paid approximately $42,000 to provide an individual he believed lived in Hong Kong with information about U.S. plans in the event Taiwan came under military attack, according to the release.Schultz put "personal profit above the security of the American people," Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said in the statement."Today's arrest shows that such a betrayal does not pay -- the Department of Justice is committed to identifying and holding accountable those who would break their oath to protect our nation's secrets."

(Reporting by Jasper Ward; Editing by Caitlin Webber)

By Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh