LOS ANGELES — A California man has been charged with shipping weapons and ammunition to North Korea and told investigators they were to be used for a surprise attack on South Korea, authorities said Tuesday.

Shenghua Wen allegedly moved items to North Korea by concealing them in shipping containers from Long Beach, California, through Hong Kong and then North Korea.

Shenghua Wen came to the U.S. in 2012 on a student visa and never left. He says North Korean officials asked him to procure guns, ammunition and other equipment for the North Korean military.