Seoul - The foreign ministers of the nations participating the six-party talks to end North Korea's nuclear programme are to meet for the first time next week in Singapore, officials in Seoul said Friday. 

The top diplomats of South Korea, Japan, China, the United States, Russia and North Korea are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of a conference of the Association of South-East Asia Nations, a spokeswoman of the South Korean Foreign Ministry said. 

It would be the first time the foreign ministers from all six nations sit down together since the talks began in 20003. The meeting is expected to take place Wednesday or Thursday. 

The ministers plan to discuss the progress made in persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and ways to improve security cooperation in north-eastern Asia. 

North Korea recently released a long-overdue list of its nuclear facilities and stockpiles, as the United States set in motion procedures to remove the country from its terrorism blacklist. (dpa)