Prosecutors said Saturday that they have arrested a retired Air Force colonel on charges of stealing confidential information on South Korea’s arms procurement plans.

The suspect, identified only by his surname Chang, was accused of leaking about 10 classified documents on arms buildup projects of the Air Force, including a plan to purchase Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missiles, prosecutors said.

Chang, now a military college professor, had worked for the South Korean agency of U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin after his retirement from the Air Force in 2006. But prosecutors said they have found no evidence that the classified information was actually passed to the U.S. firm.

Chang was one of three former Air Force officers suspected of leaking secret military information. Prosecutors said they were expanding the probe to the two others after taking over investigation records from military investigators. 

(Yonhap News)