Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Illegally Exporting Firearms, Sensitive Tech to North Korea
A Chinese national pleaded guilty on June 9 to illegally exporting firearms, ammunition and "other military items" to North Korea by hiding them inside shipping containers leaving a California port, DOJ announced. Shenghua Wen admitted 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.
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Went was arrested in December 2024 and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for violating IEEPA and 10 years in prison for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government (see 2412040055).
Wen entered the U.S. in 2012 on a student visa and remained in the U.S. illegally after the visa expired, DOJ said. Prior to entering the U.S., Wen met with North Korean government officials in China, and was directed to procure goods on behalf of North Korea. In 2022, two North Korean officials instructed Wen through an online messaging platform to buy and smuggle firearms and sensitive technology from the U.S. to North Korea.
Wen shipped at least three containers of firearms out of the Port of Long Beach in 2023, taking steps to hide the ultimate destination of the goods by, "among other things, filing false export information regarding the contents of the containers," DOJ said. As part of the scheme, Wen also obtained sensitive technology that he meant to ship to North Korea, including a "chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive or interfering transmissions," DOJ said. Wen also acquired or offered to acquire a civilian airplane engine and a thermal imaging system that could be used with a drone, helicopter or other aircraft.
North Korean officials wired Wen around $2 million to procure the firearms and other goods, DOJ said. He admitted he knew it was illegal to ship these products to North Korea and that he never had the required license to export the covered goods.
Wen faces a maximum 20-year prison sentence for conspiracy to violate IEEPA and a maximum 10-year sentence for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.