India's new foreign minister says nuclear security must be the top priority in talks with Pakistan, although the Kashmir dispute will also be on the agenda. The foreign ministers of the two countries are due to meet on June 27 to discuss nuclear confidence building measures and Kashmi r as part of a peace process that began last year.

　　Meanwhile, China's Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and India will be in the Chinese city of Qingdao on June 21 and 22 for the Asia Cooperation Dialogue conference. The meeting will take place just before talks between India and Pakistan scheduled for the end of this month.

　　India's Foreign Minister Natwar Singh told the BBC that New Delhi wants to make "a new beginning" with Pakistan. But he also appeared to deflect Islamabad's insistence that Kashmir be the core issue of discussion, in order to resolve decades of hostility.

　　Singh is a member of India's new Congress-led government, which won a shock election victory last month. Its predecessor conducted underground nuclear explosions in May 1998 and declared the country to be a nuclear weapons power.

　　Pakistan followed the Indian tests with nuclear explosions of its own, and both have since been developing missiles to carry nuclear warheads.

　　The two sides are expected to hold talks on other issues later in July, including measures to boost trade and define their maritime boundaries.

　　There was no immediate reaction from Pakistan, but President Pervez Musharraf had said that the leaderships of both countries must develop confidence and trust to settle the Kashmir issue in a "reasonable time-line".

　　Editor:Chen Source:CCTV.com