Los Angeles AP —

A California man has been sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting to shipping weapons and ammunition to North Korea that he said were to be used for a surprise attack on South Korea, authorities said Tuesday.

Shenghua Wen, 42, came to the US from China on a student visa in 2012 and remained in the country illegally after it expired, according to a statement from the US Attorney’s office in Los Angeles.

Wen pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, the statement says. He was sentenced on Monday.

Wen told investigators that before he entered the US, he met with North Korean officials at an embassy in China, where they in

See Full Page