Anna Hartz
Chinese Citizen in U.S. Gets 8 Years for North Korea Arms Plot
Sanctions are designed to cut North Korea off from weapons, technology, and money.
Yet cases keep appearing that show how the country finds ways around restrictions.
The latest example involves a man in California who worked with North Korean officials and ended up in a U.S. court.
An Overstayed Visa
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that a Chinese citizen, 42-year-old Shenghua Wen, has been sentenced to eight years in prison, reports Hotnews.
He was accused of smuggling firearms and other military equipment into North Korea. Prosecutors said he received about $2 million from North Korean contacts to carry out the scheme.
Wen lived in Ontario, California. He has been in custody since December 2024.
In June he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to break U.S. sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
Officials explained that Wen first met North Korean representatives at an embassy in China.
After moving to the United States in 2012 on a student visa, he overstayed when it expired in 2013. He later began receiving instructions from North Korean officials.
By 2022, the contacts were telling Wen to move firearms and other goods from the U.S. into North Korea.
The following year, he shipped at least three containers of weapons from the Port of Long Beach to China.
Ammunition and Sensitive Equipment
Authorities said one container, falsely labeled as a refrigerator shipment, eventually made its way to Nampo, North Korea.
He also bought a firearms business in Houston using money provided by a North Korean contact. The weapons were moved to California for export.
Last September, Wen purchased about 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition. He also acquired sensitive equipment, including a chemical threat detector and a portable broadband receiver, which he planned to send to North Korea.
The Justice Department said Wen admitted he knew all of this was illegal. Under UN Security Council rules, North Korea cannot trade arms or military equipment.
The U.S. enforces its own sanctions because of Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
Even so, cases like this show how North Korea continues to rely on secret networks, false shipping records, and foreign partners to evade restrictions.
