Chinese illegal immigrant imprisoned for sending arms, military tech to North Korea

A Chinese illegal immigrant in California was sentenced to eight years in prison Tuesday for sending weapons and technology to North Korea in preparation for a surprise attack on the South, according to the Justice Department.

Wen Shenghua, 42, had entered the United States illegally on a student visa in 2012 and remained in the country after the visa expired, the department said in announcing the sentencing.

He pleaded guilty in June to sending arms, ammunition and export-controlled military technology to Nampo, North Korea, through Hong Kong. Wen also pleaded guilty of acting as a foreign agent of North Korea.

Prosecutors had sought a five-year prison term for Wen but U.S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson in the Central District of California upped the sentence to eight years.

A lawyer for Wen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Gerdes, also did not respond to a request for comment.

According to court documents in the case, Wen met with North Korean officials in China before coming to the United States and was directed in 2022 to acquire and export U.S. weapons, ammunition and military goods to Pyongyang.

At least three shipments were sent to North Korea from the Port of Long Beach, California, including two in late 2023.

Wen told investigators the shipments were paid for by North Korean officials who supplied him with $2 million for the shipments. One of the shipments was disguised in export documents as a refrigerator.

While living in Texas, Wen obtained a federal firearms license that was used in purchasing the weapons through a front company to avoid alerting authorities.

North Korea also tasked Wen to procure civilian aircraft engines for the military that would be used in North Korean drones, and U.S. military uniforms that could be used during a surprise attack on South Korea, the court papers show.

A search of Wen’s home and van in 2024 uncovered two electronic devices that investigators say he intended to send to North Korea.

They included a Serstech Arx mkII Pharma chemical threat detector, and an ANDRE Deluxe Near-Field Detection Receiver, a device used to find hidden eavesdropping equipment.

A cache of 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition also was found.

The type of weapons sent to North Korea were not identified by authorities. A photo in an FBI complaint showed an AK-47-style carbine as one of the weapons illegal sent.

U.S. sanctions prohibit sending weapons, ammunition and export-controlled goods to North Korea.

Wen was identified in court papers as an illegal drug user who had been arrested in 2021 for drug trafficking and later convicted.

He had been ordered removed from the U.S. in 2018 for overstaying his visa. However, he was able to remain in the country until his eventual arrest on the weapons and illegal agent charges in November 2024.

Wen’s “crimes threatened the national security of the United States, and that of its ally, South Korea,” federal prosecutors stated in a sentencing memorandum.

“Acting as an illegal operative in the United States, defendant worked to procure weapons and sensitive technology on behalf of the North Korean government.”

Wen used front companies and communicated with the North Koreans through the encrypted messaging app Wikr.

Wen plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEP) and one count of acting as illegal agent of a foreign government. The IEEP provides broad power to regulate economic transactions after the president declares an emergency.