Man pleads guilty to exporting military items from the US to DPRK
11/06/2025
Shenghua Wen, a Chinese national living illegally in the US, has indeed pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
Wen was arrested in December 2024 for illegally exporting firearms, ammunition, and other military items to North Korea. He concealed these exports inside shipping containers and received approximately $2 million from North Korean officials in exchange.
Wen's actions involved shipping at least three containers of firearms from the Port of Long Beach to China, en route to North Korea. He also purchased a firearms business in Houston to facilitate the trafficking. Wen faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for violating the IEEPA and up to 10 years for acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government.
It's a significant case highlighting the lengths individuals might go to circumvent international sanctions.
References
- Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Acting at the Direction of North ...https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/chinese-national-pleads-guilty-acting-direction-north-korea-export-firearms-ammo-and-0
- Chinese man living illegally in US pleads guilty to smuggling weapons ...https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/us-china-north-korea-arm-smuggle-b2767063.html
- Chinese man in US pleads guilty to exporting guns, ammo to North Korea https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/10/chinese-man-in-us-pleads-guilty-to-exporting-guns-ammo-to-north-korea
The Team
Meet the team of industry experts behind Comsure
Find out moreLatest News
Keep up to date with the very latest news from Comsure
Find out moreGallery
View our latest imagery from our news and work
Find out moreContact
Think we can help you and your business? Chat to us today
Get In TouchNews Disclaimer
As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.
As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.