The team of six inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived in Pyongyang after a stopover in Beijing, Xinhua news agency said.

Ryszard Zarucki, who heads the inspection team, said they would take over monitoring and verification of the continued shutdown of the main Yongbyon reactor, which manufactured plutonium that could be used to make atomic bombs.

Zarucki said he would be briefed by the first team before his colleagues assumed their roles.

They arrived in Pyongyang with 60 pieces of luggage including equipment for inspections, Xinhua said, adding that they would stay for about two weeks.

North Korea allowed inspectors back into the country this month for the first time in five years to verify the shutdown of facilities at Yongbyon.

The closure is the first step in a landmark agreement brokered in February in six-nation talks aimed at getting the reclusive regime to abandon its nuclear weapons programmes.

The latest round of six-nation talks in Beijing ended earlier this month with North Korea reiterating its intention to declare and disable all its nuclear programmes in return for fuel aid and diplomatic concessions.

No deadline was agreed upon during the three days of talks, which involve host China, the two Koreas, the United States, Japan and Russia.