Korea has offered condolences on the death of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz and sent an official condolence delegation to attend his funeral, officials said Monday.

President Lee Myung-bak, who is on a trip to Mexico for a G20 summit, sent a message of condolences on Sunday to King Abdullah, Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Byung-jae said in a statement.

The four-member delegation was headed by Kwon Do-yeop, the minister of land, transport and maritime affairs, Cho said, adding that "Saudi Arabia is Korea's closet nation in the Middle East."

The 79-year-old Nayef, who had been in line to succeed Abdullah, died of "cardiac problems" on Saturday, according to foreign media reports. (Yonhap)