Illegal Chinese Migrant Shipped Weapons to North Korea From US: Feds

An illegal Chinese immigrant has been arrested for allegedly shipping weapons to North Korea from California, set for use in an attack on South Korea, federal authorities announced Tuesday.

A criminal complaint seen by Newsweek alleged Shenghua Wen, 41, was working on behalf of the North Korean government to “procure firearms, ammunition, and export-controlled technology”, including a long-range image stabilizer to locate targets.

The suspect, who arrived in the U.S. on a student visa in 2012 and never left, allegedly had two devices in his home which he planned to send to North Korea for military use when officials raided his Ontario, California, home on August 14.

A month later, 50,000 rounds of ammunition, set to head to the same destination, were also discovered.

Items had previously been hidden inside shipping containers destined for Hong Kong, before making their way to North Korea, the complaint said.

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The suspect told officials that he knew those he met were from North Korea because of the “country apparel” they wore.

Officials said at a press conference Tuesday morning that they believed North Korea had sought to avoid restrictions placed on military equipment exports from the U.S., which require federal government approval.

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In order to carry out the job, Wen purchased a federal firearms license for $150,000 in May 2023, using another person’s identity to register in Texas.

He then used other people to purchase the weapons, which he then stored in California until they could be shipped. U.S. Customs and Border Protection records of one shipment showed Wen falsely claiming one container was holding a refrigerator, while another was labeled as camera parts.

Wen allegedly worked with a broker in Hong Kong to track and manage the shipments, with another planned at the time of his arrest. The suspect was sending images of weapons he planned to ship.

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