2 days ago
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A Chinese man living unlawfully in the US has pleaded guilty to smuggling weapons, ammunition and sensitive military technology to North Korea, the US Department of Justice said.
Shenghua Wen, 42, who overstayed his visa after it expired in 2013, admitted to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and to acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. He was held in California in December 2024 and remains in federal custody.
According to prosecutors, Mr Wen entered the US in 2012 and, before his arrival, met North Korean officials at their embassy in Beijing. These officials instructed him to acquire arms and sensitive equipment on behalf of Pyongyang in violation of US sanctions, the prosecutors alleged.
The IEEPA allows the US president to restrict trade with countries posing a threat to national security and North Korea is subject to extensive American and international sanctions.
In 2023, Mr Wen shipped at least three containers of firearms from the Port of Long Beach, California, to China. One shipment reached the North Korean port of Nampo via Hong Kong in January 2025.
According to the US Justice Department, he concealed the cargo’s true contents using false export documentation. He falsely declared one container, for example, as a refrigerator.
To facilitate the trafficking, Mr Wen purchased a firearms business in Houston, Texas, with funds wired by intermediaries linked to his North Korean contacts.
He transported the weapons by road from Texas to California for shipping. Prosecutors alleged that he also acquired around 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition and procured a chemical threat identification device and a broadband receiver designed to detect unauthorised or covert communications.
In addition, he either obtained or sought to obtain military-grade items, including a thermal imaging system that could be mounted on aerial vehicles and a civilian aircraft engine.
Authorities said North Korean officials transferred approximately $2m to Mr Wen to fund the scheme. “Wen admitted that at all relevant times he knew that it was illegal to ship firearms, ammunition, and sensitive technology to North Korea. He also admitted to never having the required licences to export ammunition, firearms, and the above-described devices,” the US Attorney’s Office in California said.
“He further admitted to acting at the direction of North Korean government officials and that he had not provided notification to the Attorney General of the United States that he was acting in the United States at the direction and control of North Korea as required by law.”
Mr Wen is due to be sentenced on 18 August. He faces up to 20 years in prison for violating the IEEPA and up to 10 years for acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
