A recent investigation has exposed North Korea’s clandestine efforts to acquire weapons from the United States. The U.S. Department of Justice has announced the sentencing of a Chinese citizen, Shenghua Wen, to eight years in prison for illegally smuggling arms and military equipment to North Korea.
Wen, aged 42, was paid approximately $2 million by North Korean officials to procure and ship weapons and sensitive technology. He arrived in the U.S. in 2012 on a student visa and overstayed his visa after it expired in 2013. Evidence presented showed that Wen met with North Korean officials in China before coming to the United States, where he was assigned the task of procuring arms.
In 2022, Wen received instructions via an online messaging application from North Korean authorities to ship weapons. Subsequently, in 2023, he initiated the shipment of weapon-filled containers from the Long Beach Port in California, passing them through China and falsely declaring the contents as domestic items, such as refrigerators. One of these containers reached Hong Kong in January 2024, and was then sent to Nampo in North Korea.
Further investigation revealed that Wen utilized funds from North Korea to purchase a gun shop in Houston, Texas, from where he shipped thousands of weapons to California, with the eventual destination being North Korea. In September 2024, he planned to purchase and ship around 60,000 rounds of ammunition.
Despite strict international sanctions imposed on North Korea, prohibiting the purchase and sale of weapons and military equipment, these activities persisted. The U.S. and the UN Security Council have implemented various measures to restrict North Korea’s access to arms due to its nuclear and missile programs. However, North Korea consistently found ways to circumvent these restrictions. In 2015, a Singaporean shipping company faced blacklisting by the U.S. for supporting North Korea’s illegal arms supply.