"I have a special message, yes," Jack Lang told reporters at Beijing airport when asked if he has brought a letter from Sarkozy.

It is not immediately clear whether Lang, a former culture minister, will see Kim during a five-day visit. But Lang said it is "the wish of President Sarkozy" that he meet Kim.

Lang said he wants to have "open discussions" with North Korean officials on "all the questions," including the possibility of establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries and on the stalled six-party talks on Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions.

"The French president gives this trip, this initiative, a great importance," Lang said. "We want to meet the most important people in North Korea."

Of the 27 member states of the European Union, only France and Estonia do not have ties with North Korea.

In April, North Korea declared its withdrawal from the six-way talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia and in May it conducted a second nuclear test.