Washington DC - Despite the embarrassing leak of secret documents that revealed how the US intelligence community spies on partners and foes, the White House doesn't think the disclosures have done major damage.

"Thus far, this regrettable exposure of classified material has not resulted in a breach of trust or confidence between our partners or in our shared efforts to advance their goals around the world," White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.

Washington's allies have "appreciated the seriousness with which we're taking this issue," Kirby said on Monday.

A trove of classified Pentagon documents have been circulating on the internet for weeks after being posted in a chat group on the Discord app.

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They contain information on the war Russia is waging against Ukraine, as well as details on alleged US spying operations against partners.

Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old military officer, is suspected of having published the documents in the invite-only chat room. From there, they are said to have spread until they also came to the attention of authorities and the media earlier this month.

The IT specialist is accused of unauthorized removal, storage, and transmission of classified material and national defense information, and was arrested in Massachusetts on Thursday.

Kirby again urged the media to exercise "caution" in their reporting on the documents, which he downplayed as "incomplete snapshots in time."

"Of course, we stress that none of this material belongs in the public domain, none of it."