A third person in the case, Chinese citizen Kan Yuxin, a US green card holder, was arrested with Kuo and is still in custody without bond in northern Virginia on the same charge as Kuo.
The US has until May 30 to indict her.
Kang is alleged to have been Kuo’s intermediary with an unnamed Chinese official, who had mailing addresses in Hong Kong and southern China, to whom Kuo sent his information.
The trio were arrested on Feb. 11.
The trial comes at a time of heightened concern in Washington over Chinese espionage in the US. Several high-profile cases have been brought to light over the past two years, all with warnings by law enforcement officials of the danger they pose to US national security.
“Today’s guilty plea [by Kuo] is the latest demonstration of the serious threat posed by international espionage networks,” said Patrick Rowan, the Justice Department’s acting chief of national security.
For his efforts, Kuo apparently received US$50,000 from the Beijing official, the US said.
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