The new U.N. sanctions will make North Korea pay the "necessary price" for its latest nuclear test and rocket launch, China's state-run media said Thursday. 

The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted the tougher sanctions in response to North Korea's fourth nuclear test and rocket launch this year, but China's cooperation is the key to the effective implementation of the measures. 

In a commentary, China's official Xinhua News Agency said the latest U.N. sanctions are "seen as a necessary price Pyongyang has to pay for its recent nuclear test and satellite launch." 

North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6 and put what it calls a "satellite" into orbit by launching a long-range rocket on Feb. 7. The rocket launch has been widely condemned as a covert test of ballistic missile technology. 

China's foreign ministry has yet to give its official reaction to the new U.N. sanctions on North Korea. 

The Xinhua commentary also repeated a recent proposal by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that links all related parties agreeing to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War and reaching a settlement on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. 

"The proposal is regarded as a reasonable, responsible and feasible one. The efforts in this regard, which serve the interest of all the parties concerned, should be taken as a shared responsibility and a goal that all parties work for," the commentary said. 

The Chinese proposal echoed a long-standing demand by North Korea. 

The U.S. has said the demand by North Korea is a nonstarter as long as the North pursues its nuclear ambitions. U.S. officials have stressed that Pyongyang has got the order wrong and should first focus on negotiations to end its nuclear program. (Yonhap)