``It is well known that North Korea has marketed its missile technology and equipment worldwide, including to Pakistan,'' Department spokesman Robert Rubin said yesterday, when asked whether he could confirm the Washington Times report that North Korea has shipped warhead canisters (and other missile components and technology) to Pakistan.

North Korean-Pakistan cooperation on the Ghauri missile has also been documented, he said adding ``the United States takes this matter very seriously and has been addressing it.''

In April, this year, the US imposed sanctions on North Korean and Pakistani entities for their involvement in transferring from Pyongyang to Islamabad items controlled under Category-I of theMissile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) related specifically to the Ghauri missile, he said.

The sanctioned entities are the Changgwang Sinyoung Corporation of North Korea and the Khan Research Laboratories of Pakistan.

``We have sanctioned North Korean and Pakistani entities for the transfer of equipment and technology. Again, this is under Category-I which refers to complete missiles, major sub-systems or production technology for a missile system capable of delivering a 500 kg payload to a range of at least 300 kilometers,'' the spokesman said.

``I cannot be more specific than that, other than to say that Pakistan has announced that the Ghauri has a payload of some 700 kilograms and a range of 1,500 kilometers. The parameters described by Pakistan are, therefore, consistent with our understanding of the parameters of North Korea's No Dong missile,'' he said.

On the recent North Korean test firing of a missile which overflew Japan, he said that it tried to orbit a very small satellite that failed,but that does not affect its military capability.

The North Koreans have ``demonstrated in this launch a capability to deliver a weapon's payload against surface targets at increasing ranges, confirming the inherent capability to threaten its neighbours. So we regard this missile as a threat to the US allies, friends and forces in the region,'' Rubin added.