North Korea says South Korea must assume responsibility for the recent expulsion of South Korean journalists covering inter-Korean family reunions.

The North’s official KCNA news agency said Friday that the North Korean delegation to the reunions had conveyed a statement to the South’s delegation that expressed Pyongyang's opposition to the entry of South Korean reporters covering future family reunions.

The North's chief delegate said Pyongyang regrets that the South sought to politically exploit the reunions and urged stern punishment for those responsible for a recent standoff between South Korean reporters and North Korean officials.

The delegate also blamed the South's journalists for violating bilateral accords on news coverage, saying South Korean reporting of the reunions had lacked accuracy and fairness and had provoked the communist state by using inappropriate wording.

The chief delegate added that, despite the conflict, the North had decided to go ahead with reunions for a second group of family members after the South’s chief delegate for the reunions expressed regret over the standoff.

South Korean pool reporters covering family reunions in the North cut short their schedule and returned to the South Thursday due to the North’s imposition of restrictions on their coverage.

The decision came after the North on Wednesday demanded the expulsion of a South Korean reporter who had used the terms "abducted" and "seized" in reference to South Koreans kidnapped by the North.

Wednesday's standoff between North Korean officials and the 17 reporters caused a 10-hour delay in the return of 99 South Korean families who had gone to the North for three days of temporary reunions.