Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok has protested North Korea's pressure on a South Korean reporter to leave inter-Korean family reunions over his choice of words.

In a news conference Thursday, Lee said Pyongyang’s action runs counter to humanitarianism as well as the promotion of inter-Korean ties.

Angered over an SBS reporter's use of the terms "abducted" and "seized" in a reference to South Koreans kidnapped by the North, Pyongyang told the reporter to return home with South Korean families to Seoul after the reunion.

SBS later ordered the reporter home, but the incident prevented the families from leaving the reunion site for about ten hours.

A ministry official also said the government was worried over inconvenience of the reunion participants and possible strain on inter-Korean ties, but followed the principle of freedom of the press.