According to the US Department of Justice, 42-year-old Shenghua Wen was sentenced to eight years in prison for sending weapons and military equipment to North Korea. He received around $2 million from North Korean officials and carried out the task of sending the weapons from California.
Wen came to the US in 2012 on a student visa but remained in the country after his visa expired in 2013. He met with North Korean officials at the embassy in China and was instructed to procure weapons and other goods for the country.
In 2023, Wen shipped at least three containers of weapons from the Port of Long Beach to China, which were then planned to be sent to North Korea. Some containers were falsely labeled as carrying refrigerators. He also purchased a firearms business in Houston and transported the weapons to California for shipping.
The UN Security Council has banned the sale of arms and military equipment to North Korea. The US has also imposed restrictions due to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. At the same time, North Korea has developed ways to bypass these restrictions and obtain weapons secretly.
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