"North Korea wants to buy weapons and ammunition smuggled uniforms and engines through Chinese residents living in the U.S."
Dec 04, 2024
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It turned out that they were also trying to secure military uniforms and aircraft engines.
According to foreign media such as the New York Post, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested a Chinese man for helping North Korea smuggle weapons in Ontario, California.
The man was found to be Wen Seong-hwa (41), who was living illegally in the United States even after his visa expired.
He was charged with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions against North Korea that prohibit the sending of U.S. dollars or goods to the North without permission.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, he entered the U.S. in 2012 on a one-year student visa and did not leave after his visa expired. Having been ordered deported in 2018, he did not clarify why he remained in the United States.
Before coming to the United States in 2012, he met with North Korean government officials at two places, including the North Korean consulate in China, the FBI said.
According to the FBI, he was asked by North Korean officials to procure goods at the meeting.
He stated that he was selected to procure goods on behalf of the North Korean government because he was good at smuggling.
According to the indictment, he was found to have sent weapons and ammunition at least twice, hiding items such as weapons and ammunition in a container bound for North Korea via Hong Kong, China. North Korea is known to have transferred 2 million dollars (about 2.8 billion won) through China in return.
The FBI confiscated 'chemical threat identification devices' and 'portable broadband receivers' that it admitted to obtaining for North Korea from his home. In a van parked outside the house, 50,000 rounds of 9mm ammunition were found.
He also admitted that he planned to send U.S. military uniforms and civilian small aircraft engines to North Korea at the request of the North.
It is analyzed that the military uniform was intended to be used as camouflage when North Korea penetrates South Korea by surprise, and the engine was intended to be used to develop North Korea's military drone program.
Wen, who has been charged, argued that "the North Korean government understands that it wants weapons, ammunition and other military-related equipment to prepare for an attack on the South."
bellho@sportschosun.com
