Seoul - Leaders from South Korea, Japan and China will meet next month to discuss the impact of the global financial crisis, Seoul presidential officials announced Friday.

South Korea's President Lee Myung Bak, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will hold talks in the Japanese city of Fukuoka on December 13.

Though the three countries have met previously on the sidelines of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three summit, it will be the first such meeting held separately from a multilateral international forum.

In order to protect themselves better from the financial crisis, Lee, Aso and Wen will discuss expanding foreign currency swap arrangements and the agreement by the ASEAN Plus Three to create an 80 billion dollar joint fund to combat any regional financial crisis, Yonhap news agency reported, citing a presidential aide.

Regional leaders agreed during the Asia-Europe Summit in October to create the joint fund by June 2009 and establish a regional financial market surveillance organisation. In November, the finance ministers from Japan, China and South Korean resolved to take the lead in stabilising Asian economies.

The three countries, members of a six-nation forum trying to persuade North Korea to scrap its nuclear programme in return for aid, are to also discuss the denuclearization efforts, the president's office said. (dpa)