Chinese national gets 8 years in prison for smuggling weapons, tech to North Korea

Photos of a gun and parts of military electronics that were found on Shenghua Wen's phone.Courtesy: U.S

Department of JusticeA Chinese national was sentenced to eight years in prison for conspiring to illegally smuggle guns, ammunition, and sensitive U.S. to North Korea, the Department of Justice said Tuesday.Shenghua Wen, 42, pleaded guilty in June to one count each of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.Wen had admitted to concealing the contraband inside shipping containers that he falsely claimed were filled with consumer goods bound for China.Wen said North Korean officials wired him $2 million to buy guns and other ducts, according to a criminal complaint in Los Angeles federal court.U.S

District Judge Stephen Wilson sentenced Wen in that court on Monday.Attorneys from the Federal Public Defenders Office, who represented Wen, did not immediately respond to requests for .Wen, a Chinese citizen who entered the U.S. in 2012, has been living in the country illegally since his student visa expired in December 2013, the DOJ said.He met with North Korean officials before entering the U.S., and they directed him to cure goods for them, the DOJ said.Wen successfully exported at least two shipments of guns and ammo from Long Beach, California, to North Korea, according to the complaint.He identified the contents of one of those shipping containers as a "refrigerator."Read more CNBC coverageTrump, Zelenskyy open to Putin talks as Europeans push for a ceasefire: Traders hope the Ukraine war ends soon

The mood is different in KyivIn pictures: 'Stop Trump' testers target JD Vance's UK summer tripEuropean powers threaten 'snapback sanctions' if Iran doesn't return to nu talksWhen federal agents ed his Ontario, California, in August 2024, they seized a "chemical threat identification device" and another item int to detect eavesdropping devices, the court document said.Wen admitted at that time that he had acquired those devices to send to North Korea's military, according to the complaint.Less than a month later, the feds seized 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition from Wen's van, which he said was also int to be sent to North Korea, the document said.He has been held in federal custody since his arrest in early December.His conspiracy charge carried a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.