Chinese National Sentenced to Eight Years in Prison for Exporting Weapons to North Korea
North Korean officials paid around $2 million for shipment of firearms and other items from California to Hong Kong
A Chinese national, Shenghua Wen, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for shipping firearms and ammunition to North Korea.
According to the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, North Korean officials paid Wen approximately $2 million to ship two containers of weapons and other items from Long Beach in California to Hong Kong in 2023.Wen, a 42-year-old resident of California who entered the US on a student visa in 2012 and remained in the country after his visa expired, pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
He was sentenced on Monday.Wen met with North Korean officials at an embassy in China before entering the US, where they instructed him to procure goods for Pyongyang.
He believed that the weapons would be used for a surprise attack against South Korea and also admitted to trying to buy uniforms to disguise North Korean soldiers.
In 2022, North Korean officials contacted Wen via an online messaging app and instructed him to purchase firearms.To carry out his operation, Wen purchased a business called Super Armory in 2023, a federal firearms licensee, and registered it under his business partner's name in Texas.
He had other people purchase the firearms and then drove them to California, misrepresenting the shipments as refrigerator parts and camera parts.
The FBI seized 50,000 rounds of ammunition from Wen's home in September.United Nations resolutions ban North Korea from trading weapons, and Washington has imposed sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile activities.
Tensions between South Korea and North Korea have flared again as South Korea and the US begin their annual large-scale joint military exercises.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has demonstrated an intent to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along the North's border with South Korea recently.Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korea's leader, urged the country's foreign ministry to pursue 'proper countermeasures' against South Korea and called Seoul a 'faithful dog' of Washington in response to efforts by South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae-myung to improve ties.
In response, South Korea's Unification Ministry stated that they will continue to take 'proactive steps for peace' and called for mutual respect between the countries.
According to the US Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, North Korean officials paid Wen approximately $2 million to ship two containers of weapons and other items from Long Beach in California to Hong Kong in 2023.Wen, a 42-year-old resident of California who entered the US on a student visa in 2012 and remained in the country after his visa expired, pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
He was sentenced on Monday.Wen met with North Korean officials at an embassy in China before entering the US, where they instructed him to procure goods for Pyongyang.
He believed that the weapons would be used for a surprise attack against South Korea and also admitted to trying to buy uniforms to disguise North Korean soldiers.
In 2022, North Korean officials contacted Wen via an online messaging app and instructed him to purchase firearms.To carry out his operation, Wen purchased a business called Super Armory in 2023, a federal firearms licensee, and registered it under his business partner's name in Texas.
He had other people purchase the firearms and then drove them to California, misrepresenting the shipments as refrigerator parts and camera parts.
The FBI seized 50,000 rounds of ammunition from Wen's home in September.United Nations resolutions ban North Korea from trading weapons, and Washington has imposed sanctions on Pyongyang over its nuclear and ballistic missile activities.
Tensions between South Korea and North Korea have flared again as South Korea and the US begin their annual large-scale joint military exercises.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has demonstrated an intent to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along the North's border with South Korea recently.Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korea's leader, urged the country's foreign ministry to pursue 'proper countermeasures' against South Korea and called Seoul a 'faithful dog' of Washington in response to efforts by South Korea's new liberal President Lee Jae-myung to improve ties.
In response, South Korea's Unification Ministry stated that they will continue to take 'proactive steps for peace' and called for mutual respect between the countries.
