China’s state-run media and Beijing’s diplomatic circles are showing keen interest in the additional sanctions placed on North Korea by the U.S.

State-run Xinhua News reported in length from Washington on U.S. President Barack Obama’s announcement that a new executive order has taken effect which further sanctions North Korea.

A number of quasi-state-run Chinese newspapers reported from Washington that the new sanctions are a follow-up to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s July announcement that Washington would cut off funding for North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons.

Diplomatic sources in China are known to be focusing on the timing of the U.S. announcement, as it immediately follows North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s visit to China. The sources said that during Kim’s visit, North Korea and China demonstrated their bilateral goodwill and elicited hopes for resuming the six-party talks.