Singapore has suspended trade ties with North Korea in the latest move by a country to implement UN sanctions to curb Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme, a customs document showed Thursday.

A circular by Singapore Customs on its website banned "all commercially traded goods... from or to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), regardless of whether they are imported, exported, transhipped or brought in transit through Singapore" with effect from November 8.

DPRK is North Korea's formal name.

The United States is leading a drive at the UN Security Council to impose two recent sets of sanctions on North Korea to punish Pyongyang over its nuclear and missile tests.