French President Nicholas Sarkozy's special envoy to North Korea says he held long discussions with officials there on sensitive issues when he visited the communist country last week.

French lawmaker Jack Lang, who returned to Paris from a five-day trip to Pyongyang, told local media that matters including North Korea's nuclear program and human rights record were covered at length with authorities in the North.

Lang is said to have met with North Korea's nominal head of state Kim Young-nam for ten hours during which they explored ways to normalize diplomatic ties.

The French envoy said that North Korea claims it no longer transfers ballistic missiles and nuclear bomb-making materials outside of the country.