Chinese national in U.S. pleads guilty to shipping arms to North Korea
SEOUL, June 10 (UPI) -- A Chinese citizen living in the United States pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges for illegally exporting firearms, ammunition and other military items to North Korea, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Shengua Wen, 42, acted under the instructions of North Korean government officials and was paid approximately $2 million for his efforts, the department said in a press release Monday.
Wen, who was living in Ontario, Calif., without permanent legal status, concealed the goods inside shipping containers that departed from the Port of Long Beach, prosecutors said.
According to the plea agreement, Wen admitted to shipping at least three containers of guns to China en route to North Korea in 2023. He bought a firearms business in Houston, Texas, to acquire the guns and filed false export paperwork to conceal the contents of his containers.
In September 2024, Wen allegedly purchased approximately 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition that he intended to ship to North Korea. He also obtained sensitive technology, including "a chemical threat identification device and a handheld broadband receiver that detects known, unknown, illegal, disruptive or interfering transmissions," the press release said.
Wen met government officials at a North Korean embassy in China, where he was instructed to procure the weapons and sensitive items, according to his plea agreement. He then entered the United States in 2012 on a student visa and remained after it expired in December 2013.
Wen pleaded guilty to one count of violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government. He faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
"Wen admitted that at all relevant times he knew that it was illegal to ship firearms, ammunition and sensitive technology to North Korea," prosecutors said.
He has been in custody since he was arrested and charged in December.
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