The United Nations Security Council has voted to impose tougher sanctions on North Korea in response to its recent ballistic missile tests, reports BBC.

The US-drafted resolution includes measures to reduce the nation's oil supply by up to 90 per cent. All North Korean nationals working abroad will have to return home within 12 months under the proposals.

The country is already subject to a raft of sanctions from the US, the UN and the EU. China, North Korea's main trading partner, voted in favour of the resolution.

Washington has been imposing sanctions on Pyongyang since 2008, freezing the assets of individuals and companies linked to its nuclear programme and banning the exports of goods and services to the country.