Story highlights Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke to reporters Thursday

"It is creating some stress within North Korea's economy," Tillerson said

Beijing (CNN) Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Thursday that the US and China are seeing "certain signs" that international sanctions imposed against North Korea are beginning to impact the country's economy.

"It is creating some stress within North Korea's economy," Tillerson said, pointing to US and Chinese intelligence.

"There are clear signs and the Chinese side has shared with us some of the signs that they're seeing. We see certain signs with our own human intel and other sources we have," Tillerson said, following a day of meetings between President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping and top officials from both governments.

The comments mark the first time the US has indicated that the latest round of UN sanctions are beginning to affect North Korea's economy.

China signed onto a US-drafted UN Security Council resolution in September that imposed fresh sanctions against the North Korean regime, but Trump's visit in Beijing this week was intended to press China to increase its pressure on Pyongyang.

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