Specna Arms
A Chinese man residing illegally in the United States has pleaded guilty to exporting firearms, ammunition, and sensitive military technology to North Korea under direct orders from Pyongyang, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Shenghua Wen, a 42-year-old living in Ontario, California, admitted to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and acting as an unauthorized agent of a foreign government. The IEEPA, enacted in 1977, grants the U.S. president broad authority to regulate commerce in the interest of national security.
According to federal prosecutors, Wen orchestrated the shipment of at least three containers filled with weapons bound for North Korea in 2023. One of those containers, routed through Hong Kong, ultimately reached the North Korean port city of Nampo.
To carry out the operation, Wen purchased a firearms business in Houston, Texas, and used falsified shipping documents to disguise the contents of the cargo. In addition to firearms, Wen allegedly procured approximately 60,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition and secured sensitive military-related technology, including a chemical threat detection device.
Prosecutors say Wen was acting under the direction of North Korean government officials, whom he first met at the North Korean Embassy in China prior to entering the United States in 2012 on a student visa. To support the operation, he reportedly received about $2 million in funds from North Korea.
“Wen admitted that at all relevant times, he knew it was illegal to export firearms, ammunition, and sensitive technology to North Korea,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement. “He also acknowledged that he lacked the required export licenses and failed to notify the U.S. Attorney General that he was operating under the direction of a foreign government.”
A criminal complaint filed in September revealed that during an FBI interview, Wen disclosed his belief that the weapons and ammunition were intended to bolster North Korea’s preparations for a potential military strike against South Korea.
Wen was arrested in December and is scheduled to be sentenced in August. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison for violating the IEEPA and an additional 10 years for acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign state.
