WASHINGTON Ñ Cairo is proceeding with plans to buy North Korean missile engines and up to 300 North Korean technicians are in Egypt for the missile program according to new intelligence reports.

The engines are for the No-Dong missiles, which has a range of between 1,000 and 1,300 kilometers.

The number of North Koreans are said to have increased over the last two years both in Egypt and in neighboring Libya. Much of Egyptian missile development is said to be taking place in Libya, Middle East Newsline reports.

The latest intelligence reports, the officials said, undermine Egypt's credibility and some members of Congress are threatening to review all U.S. aid to Cairo unless the No Dong sale is terminated. The issue was raised last month by then chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee Sen. Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher has arrived to a frosty welcome from the Bush administration and Congress due to the reports that Cairo has accelerated cooperation with North Korea in the development of intermediate-range weapons.

Maher is scheduled to meet U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell today and National Security Council Adviser Condoleezza Rice and congressional leaders on June 22. This is his first official visit to the United States since he became foreign minister.

Officials said Egypt has pledged that it does not cooperate with North Korea and said some of Washington's allegations refer to cooperation that ended in 1996.

Still, Maher will not be extensively questioned regarding the North Korean missile sale. U.S. officials said Maher, who assumed office last month, is not regarded as the right address for such concerns by Washington.

Instead, the officials said, the issue will be raised when Egyptian Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi arrives in Washington later this year. Tantawi is expected to discuss Egyptian request for F-16s and other U.S. weapons.

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