US envoy Christopher Hill said in an interview aired by Japanese broadcaster NHK that the team would travel to North Korea's main nuclear complex at Yongbyon, north of the capital, Pyongyang. Hill said the group, which arrived in Pyongyang on Thursday, would then start disabling the country's sole functioning reactor there and two other facilities on Monday.

"By Monday morning, they will begin disablement, " Hill said. "It's a very big day because it's the first time it's actually going to start disabling its nuclear programme."

North Korea shut down the reactor in July and promised to disable it by the end of the year in exchange for energy aid and political concessions from other members of talks on its nuclear programme: the US, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia.

Disabling the reactor would mark a milestone in efforts to convince the country to cut back its nuclear programme.

North Korea could still restart the reactor after disablement, though Hill has said that process would take at least a year.

The US and other countries in the nuclear talks have demanded that Pyongyang completely dismantle its nuclear weapons programme. AP