Chinese national in California jailed for exporting weapons to North Korea

A Chinese nationalist successful California has been sentenced to 8 years successful situation for shipping firearms and ammunition to North Korea.

North Korean officials paid Shenghua Wen astir $2 cardinal (€1.7 million) to vessel 2 containers of weapons and different items from Long Beach successful California to North Korea via Hong Kong successful 2023, according to nan US Attorney's Office successful Los Angeles.

The 42-year-old pleaded blameworthy successful June to 1 count of conspiracy to break nan International Emergency Economic Powers Act and 1 count of acting arsenic an forbidden supplier of a overseas government, nan authorities said. Wen was sentenced connected Monday.

Wen arrived successful nan US from China connected a student visa successful 2012 and remained successful nan state illegally aft it expired successful December 2023, according to nan attorney's office.

He told investigators that earlier he entered nan US, he met pinch North Korean officials astatine an embassy successful China, wherever they instructed him to procure equipment for Pyongyang.

Wen said he believed that nan weapons would beryllium utilized for a astonishment onslaught against South Korea, and besides admitted that he had tried to bargain uniforms to disguise North Korean soldiers, according to a criminal title revenge successful September.

In 2022, North Korean officials contacted Wen via an online messaging app and instructed him to bargain firearms, nan attorney's agency said.

To transportation retired his operation, Wen purchased a business successful 2023 called Super Armory, a national firearms licensee, and registered it nether his business partner's sanction successful Texas.

He had different group acquisition nan firearms and past drove them to California, misrepresenting nan shipments arsenic a refrigerator and camera parts. Investigators did not opportunity whether Wen had organised immoderate shipments during his first 10 years successful nan US.

The FBI successful September seized 50,000 rounds of ammunition from Wen's location successful nan Los Angeles suburb of Ontario that had been stored successful a van parked successful nan driveway. They besides seized a chemic threat recognition instrumentality and a transmission discovery instrumentality that Wen said he planned to nonstop to nan North Korean authorities for subject use.

Authorities did not specify successful nan title nan types of weapons that were exported.

United Nations resolutions prohibition North Korea from trading weapons. Washington has besides imposed its ain sanctions connected Pyongyang complete its atomic and ballistic rocket activities.

Pyongyang condemns Seoul

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has demonstrated an intent to deploy battlefield atomic weapons on nan North's separator pinch South Korea, a US ally, precocious delivering nuclear-capable rocket launchers to frontline subject units.

Tensions flared again this week betwixt Seoul and Pyongyang arsenic South Korea and nan United States began their yearly large-scale associated subject exercise.

Kim condemned nan drills and vowed a accelerated description of his atomic forces to antagonistic rivals arsenic he inspected nan nation's astir precocious warship, authorities media said connected Tuesday.

North Korea has brushed speech calls by South Korea's caller wide President Lee Jae-myung for nan 2 rivals to resume diplomacy, and relations person soured successful caller years arsenic Kim accelerated his weapons programme and deepened alignment pinch Moscow pursuing Russia's full-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022.

Kim Yo-jong, nan influential sister of North Korea's leader, connected Wednesday erstwhile again taunted South Korea's efforts to amended ties and said Pyongyang would ne'er judge Seoul arsenic a negotiated partner, according to authorities media.

Kim reportedly told overseas ministry officials that reconciliation pinch South Korea would ne'er happen, and urged nan ministry to prosecute "proper countermeasures" against Seoul, which she labelled nan "most dispute state" and a "faithful dog" of Washington.

In consequence to Kim Yo-jong's comments, South Korea's Unification Ministry — which handles inter-Korean affairs — said Lee's authorities will proceed to return "proactive steps for peace" and called for communal respect betwixt nan countries.