Singapore has suspended all trade with North Korea, becoming the latest South-east Asian nation to cut economic ties with the nuclear-armed state, in line with toughened sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council.

Analysts said Singapore’s move was timely and in line with international consensus to resolve North Korea’s nuclear issue with economic sanctions. The United States, meanwhile, is rallying global support to put pressure on the Kim Jong Un regime to end provocations and abandon its nuclear weapons.

Dr Graham Ong-Webb, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said Singapore has been gradually registering its disapproval and tightening sanctions, while leaving “room for dialogue and a face-saving way out”.

“In the light of (North Korea’s) continuance of its illicit nuclear ambitions, our decision to completely suspend commercial trade with North Korea communicates that the stakes on the issue are becoming even higher, and that we cannot make our disapproval clearer than this,” he said.