North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un
North Korea was secretly asking for a stock of weapons and military goods from America. But now this matter has been revealed a big revelation. The US Department of Justice has said that a Chinese citizen living in California has been sentenced to 8 years imprisonment for smuggling weapons and military goods for North Korea.
The name of this Chinese citizen is Shengahua Wayne. It is 42 years old. Shengahua received around 20 million dollars (about Rs 16 crore) from North Korea officials, in return for which he sent weapons and other sensitive technology shipments to North Korea.
Learn about the case in detail?
According to the Department of Justice, Wayne came to America on a visa in 2012 but came to America, but remained there even after the visa period was over. Documents presented in the court suggests that before coming to America, he met North Korean Embassy officials in China. In the same meeting, he was assigned the task of raising arms and goods for North Korea.
In 2022, North Korean officials directed him to send contact weapons through the online messaging app. After this, in 2023, he sent several containers from Long Beach Port (California) via China, in which weapons were filled. By giving incorrect information in shipment, he described them as household items such as refrigerators. A container reached Hong Kong in January 2024 and was sent directly to Nampo (North Korea).
What else came out in the investigation?
The investigation also revealed that Wayne bought a gun shop in Houston (Texas) from North Korea and sent thousands of weapons from there to California, which was later sent to North Korea. In September 2024, he also bought around 60,000 bullets which were planned to send.
This happened despite international restrictions
Surprisingly, despite international publisies, North Korea kept asking for arms from America. Under the rules of the United Nations Security Council, there is a complete ban on the purchase of weapons and military goods on North Korea.
The US has also imposed several restrictions in view of its atomic and missile program. Despite this, North Korea has been breaking international sanctions in different ways. In 2015, the US blacklisted a Singapore shipping company, which was accused of helping North Korea’s illegal arms supply.
