The Security Council has unanimously approved wider UN sanctions against North Korea over its 25 May nuclear test.
The sanctions resolution bans all weapons exports from North Korea and most arms imports into the reclusive Communist state.
It authorises UN member states to inspect North Korean sea, air and land cargo, requiring them to seize and destroy any goods transported in violation of the sanctions.
Both China and Russia, which had been reluctant to support punitive measures against North Korea in the past, endorsed the US-drafted resolution, which is now binding under international law.
China's UN ambassador, Zhang Yesui, said the resolution showed the ‘firm opposition’ of the international community to North Korea's nuclear ambitions, but he urged countries to exercise caution when inspecting North Korean cargo.
North Korea, which prompted a period of high tension in the region with the nuclear explosion followed by a series of missile tests and belligerent threats, did not send a representative to speak at the Security Council meeting.
