The report, published Monday by United Press International, said Bhutto told a group of Pakistani journalists in Washington that her country purchased the designs for the short- and medium-range missiles for cash and that no transfer of nuclear technology was involved.

Bhutto did allow, however, that following her tenure as head of the Islamabad-based government, Pakistani representatives might have engineered the exchange of nuclear technology for actual missiles in the period after international sanctions were placed on her country following its 1998 nuclear test.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said Bhutto's disclosure points up the need for a stricter regime of international controls governing the spread of nuclear and missile technology.

"These reports underscore the profound implications for global security if and when rogue regimes like North Korea sell such blueprints or even nuclear devices to terrorist groups," Brownback said.

"What we've done with Afghanistan and Iraq is crucial and an important step," Brownback continued, labeling Bhutto's disclosure as evidence of the need for closer cooperation between the United States and "all interested parties around the world to stop the spread of WMDs and missile technologies."

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., a member of the House International Relations Committee, labeled the report a demonstration of "both the arrogance and insanity of Pakistani leaders who wasted money pursuing rocket and nuclear technology while their own people go hungry and are denied adequate healthcare and education."

"The more serious question," he continued, "is where did North Korea obtain the technology that was passed on to Pakistan?"

To Rohrabacher, the answer is obvious. "The real villain," he said, "is China, which continues to play its normal, despicable role."

Bhutto told UPI that in 1993, as she headed to North Korea on a state visit, scientists working on Pakistan's nuclear and missile programs asked her to bring back blueprints of North Korean missiles that had a longer range than those possessed at the time by either Pakistan or India.

"These were not nuclear missiles but had the capability to carry nuclear weapons," Bhutto said. "I was told, 'Only you can bring these blueprints.'"

Bhutto told UPI that she had only offered cash to the North Koreans for the missile technology. "It was a cash transaction - no exchange of nuclear technology. Exchanging nuclear technology for missiles was never even discussed during my visit."

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