Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon is in Qingdao, China to attend a meeting of Asian foreign ministers to discuss key regional security issues.

During his four-day stay in the northeastern Chinese port city, Ban is scheduled to have separate talks with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) meeting.

At the three-way talks, coming a day before the opening of the six-way nuclear talks, the three foreign ministers will seek ways to persuade Pyongyang to drop its nuclear ambitions in return for a security guarantee and economic aid.

The three Asian foreign ministers will also discuss a draft resolution to be adopted at a summit meeting of the three nations which is to be held in Laos in late November on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus 3 summit meeting.

Meanwhile, during the two-day ACD meeting, the participants are expected to issue a declaration to increase cooperation among Asian nations in regional security and energy provision.

The ACD, launched in 2002, has 22 member states, including South Korea, China, Japan and the 10 members of the ASEAN.