Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan has asked Austrian President Heiz Fischer to use his connections in North Korea to help settle the communist state's nuclear standoff.

Lee met with Fischer in Vienna Monday and asked the Austrian head of state to consider visiting Pyongyang to persuade the Stalinist state to give up its nuclear ambitions.

Fischer replied that he would exert his best efforts on the matter depending on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election set for next month.

Lee's visit to Austria is the second leg of his nine-day European trip.