Man jailed in US for smuggling arms to North Korea

A Chinese citizen living in California has been handed an eight-year prison sentence in the US for orchestrating an arms smuggling operation that funneled weapons and military equipment to North Korea, according to the Justice Department.

Officials said 42-year-old Shenghua Wen collected approximately USD 2 million in payments from North Korean operatives in exchange for illegally exporting firearms and other restricted technology.

Wen, who lived in Ontario, California, has been in custody since December 2024. In June, he admitted guilt to charges of conspiring to breach the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and of working covertly as an agent of a foreign government.

The Justice Department noted that Wen originally entered the US on a student visa in 2012, but remained unlawfully after it expired in late 2013. The agency described him as an “illegal alien,” and revealed that his involvement with North Korea’s officials predated his arrival in the US.

“Prior to entering the United States, Wen met with officials from North Korea's government at a North Korean embassy in China,” the department stated. “These government officials directed Wen to procure goods on behalf of North Korea.”

According to investigators, North Korean representatives reached out to Wen through an encrypted messaging platform in 2022. He was instructed to smuggle firearms and other equipment from the US into North Korea.

By the following year, Wen had arranged shipments from the Port of Long Beach to China, which ultimately made their way to North Korea. At least three containers of firearms were sent, with export paperwork misrepresenting their contents. One such shipment was listed as a refrigerator before being rerouted from Hong Kong to the North Korean port city of Nampo in January 2024.

Prosecutors also said Wen purchased a firearms business in Houston using funds provided by a North Korean contact, transporting weapons himself from Texas to California. In September last year, he allegedly bought 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition, intending to ship them abroad.

In addition to weapons and ammunition, Wen attempted to acquire sensitive US technology, including a chemical threat detection system and a handheld broadband receiver, both of which were destined for North Korea.

“Wen admitted in his plea agreement that at all relevant times he knew that it was illegal to ship firearms, ammunition, and sensitive technology to North Korea,” the Justice Department said.

Under UN Security Council resolutions, North Korea is prohibited from exporting or importing weapons, while Washington enforces additional restrictions linked to its nuclear and missile development programs.

Despite these measures, past cases show the country’s ability to continue illicit trading. In 2015, the US sanctioned a Singapore-based shipping firm accused of aiding North Korea’s weapons transport. In 2023, British American Tobacco was ordered to pay over USD 600 million for violating sanctions by selling cigarettes to the country.