Chinese National Jailed for Smuggling Firearms & Technology to North Korea in Sanctions Evasion Case

A Chinese national has been sentenced to eight years in a United States federal prison for conspiring with North Korean officials to evade international sanctions by exporting firearms, ammunition, and sensitive military technology to Pyongyang.

Shenghua Wen, 42, of Ontario, California, was sentenced to 96 months by Judge Stephen V. Wilson in the Central District of California. Wen pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and one count of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government.

Wen entered the United States on a student visa in 2012, but remained unlawfully after it expired in 2013. Before his arrival, he had already established contacts with North Korean government officials in China. Those officials later instructed him to procure goods in violation of US sanctions designed to restrict Pyongyang’s access to weapons and dual-use technology.

Between 2022 and 2024, Wen orchestrated multiple shipments of firearms and ammunition, concealing them inside containers leaving the Port of Long Beach for onward transport to North Korea. One shipment in December 2023, falsely declared as a refrigerator, eventually arrived in Nampo, North Korea via Hong Kong.

He also sought to acquire advanced reconnaissance and defence technologies, including a chemical threat identification device, a broadband receiver to detect covert signals, a civilian aircraft engine and a thermal imaging system suitable for drones and helicopters.

North Korean officials wired approximately $2 million to Wen through intermediaries to finance the scheme. He admitted that he knew his actions breached US export controls and international sanctions, and that he deliberately filed false export declarations to conceal the true nature of the shipments.

The case was investigated by the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Defence Criminal Investigative Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security. Prosecutors emphasised that Wen acted directly under the direction of North Korean officials and failed to register with the US Attorney General as legally required.

This sentencing highlights the continuing challenge of sanctions enforcement against North Korea. Despite stringent United Nations and US sanctions, the regime continues to exploit global procurement networks, shell companies and foreign operatives to source restricted goods.

By imposing significant prison terms, US authorities aim to deter sanctions evasion and reaffirm the international community’s commitment to preventing North Korea from acquiring weapons and sensitive technologies that threaten global security.

Read the press release here.