SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un asked U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for an end to economic sanctions when they met in Pyongyang on Oct. 7, said a source familiar with the matter, in what could become a major sticking point as the two sides negotiate the dismantlement of the North's nuclear program.

The U.S. has repeatedly called on the North to disclose its nuclear holdings and give inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency access to nuclear facilities. Kim told Pompeo he was ready to accept inspections at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and other facilities, but in exchange requested relief from the sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council and a joint declaration officially ending the Korean War, the source said.

Though North Korea has consistently pushed to end the war, this is the first time that Pyongyang has demanded an end to the sanctions in official face-to-face talks with the U.S. "This suggests that North Korea has been backed into a corner by the sanctions," the source said.

Pompeo spoke with Kim for about five and a half hours during his trip, including at a joint luncheon. The two sides agreed to hold a second meeting between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump soon. They also discussed the dismantlement of the North's Yongbyon nuclear complex, which Kim proposed in a joint declaration with South Korean President Moon Jae-in last month.

Further details on nuclear inspections and the proposed summit will be ironed out in working-level talks between Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, and North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui. The North has only ramped up its rhetoric in anticipation.

The state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday ran a commentary criticizing Washington. The U.S. intent to maintain sanctions means that it will not stop its "hostile policy" toward the North, and will undermine the thaw in bilateral ties, the piece said.

North Korea is wasting no time in wooing the international community. Choe met with Chinese and Russian counterparts on Oct. 9, issuing a joint statement for a revision to the sanctions.

South Korea also recently showed signs it is easing up on the North, when Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said on Oct. 10 that Seoul may reconsider its unilateral sanctions.

At a summit Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron, Moon said, "If we can determine that North Korea's denuclearization has reached an irreversible stage, we should ease U.N. sanctions and further support the denuclearization process."