French President Nicolas Sarkozy is sending an envoy to North Korea in an attempt to help resolve the nuclear issue in the communist state.

The envoy, former French Culture Minister Jack Lang, will visit the North next week.

Lang told AP TV Wednesday that he is going to the communist country to discuss relations between the North and the EU and to help break the impasse over the North Korean nuclear problem.

He said he will bring new ideas to the table, including possible European aid to the poverty-stricken country in return for denuclearization.

Lang said that more detailed proposals will be unveiled after he returns home and reports the results of his trip to Sarkozy.