Thailand's military-backed prime minister will this week ask Malaysia to extradite top insurgent leaders believed to be hiding across the border, senior officials said today.

Premier Surayud Chulanont is due to make a one-day visit to Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday to hold talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The separatist insurgency that has raged for more than two years along Thailand's southern border with Malaysia will top the agenda, Thai government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp said.

Surayud will also use the trip to discuss Thailand's political situation after the bloodless coup on Sept 19 that ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the spokesman added.

Thai intelligence sources said Surayud would specifically ask Malaysia to track down and extradite key leaders of the separatist movement.

"The Malaysian government should know where they live," one intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

"We believe that if we talk to these key members, it will help reduce the problems in the south," the official added.

130 on wanted list

Surayud will also ask Malaysia to repatriate 130 Thai Muslims who fled across the border more than a year ago, saying they left their country because of insecurity and fear of persecution by the Thai government.

Their flight triggered a diplomatic row between Thailand and mainly Muslim Malaysia, which insisted that the group should not be forced to return, particularly if their safety could not be assured.

Surayud said last week that he had already discussed the insurgency with Malaysia's ambassador in Bangkok, who had voiced optimism that joint cooperation could end more than two years unrest in the Muslim-majority region.

Residents in Thailand's southernmost provinces are mostly ethnic Malay and Muslim, sharing more culturally with their neighbors across the border than with the rest of Buddhist Thailand.

Separatist unrest and other violence has marked the region since January 2004, killing more than 1,500 people.

Surayud's military-backed administration has announced plans for talks with two insurgent groups early next month, and rebel leaders have reportedly said they would like to hold the talks in Malaysia.

Former Malaysian premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's office has revealed that he brokered talks between Thai officials and Muslim groups on the Malaysian island of Langkawi late last year, in an attempt to establish a ceasefire.