A U.S. representative is urging Washington to take a tougher stance on North Korea and its nuclear program.

Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, made the request in a statement released Wednesday.

The statement follows a U.N. report that says Pyongyang has exported nuclear technology to Myanmar, Iran and Syria, even after being slapped with U.N. sanctions.

The U.S. lawmaker stressed the need for placing additional sanctions on North Korea, saying that the communist country evidently continues to engage in belligerent acts and has not relinquished its nuclear ambitions.

She called on the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama to give up on its failed strategy of engaging North Korea and instead impose stronger pressure on the communist country.