The government has expressed regret over Pyongyang's restrictions on South Korean news coverage of the 13th round of inter-Korean family reunions.

Unification Ministry spokesman Yang Chang-seok on Friday said it was unfortunate that a squabble between South Korean reporters and North Korean officials had disrupted the humanitarian event, adding that Seoul would take measures to prevent a recurrence.

On Pyongyang's characterization of a written statement issued by Seoul's chief delegate to the reunions, Yang said the delegate had merely asked for understanding from the South Korean families for the North's delay in the Tuesday reunion sessions, and had not apologized or admitted to any fault on his part.

Officials from Seoul also refused to accept the North's demand for an apology from South Korean reporters, citing the primacy of freedom of the press.

North Korean media on Friday said the South was solely responsible for the mishap but that the second half of reunions would go forward as planned since Seoul's chief delegate had "apologized".

On Wednesday, 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. The incident prevented the families from leaving the reunion site for about ten hours.