A delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency has arrived in North Korea to discuss the process of shutting down the North's nuclear facilities in Yongbyon.

The working-level delegation led by Olli Heinonen, the U.N. watchdog's nuclear standards chief, will stay in Pyongyang until Saturday and discuss the scope of the shutdown and inspection procedures.

Five facilities will be shut down and sealed, including one five-megawatt and one 50-megawatt reactor, along with a radiochemical laboratory.

Following the transfer of North Korean funds from Macao's Banco Delta Asia, Pyongyang earlier this month invited IAEA officials to discuss the nuclear dismantlement process.

After the Pyongyang visit, the nuclear watchdog will convene a special board meeting early next month to decide on the dispatch of a surveillance team to the communist state. If the board approves, the shutdown and sealing process will begin from early next month.