Angered by a news report, the government has excluded Nippon Television Network Corp. reporters from a list of press corps permitted to accompany Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on his weekend visit to Pyongyang, NTV officials said Tuesday.

The list, compiled by the Foreign Ministry and distributed to media organizations Tuesday, outlines who can accompany Koizumi on his trip Saturday. However, the list might change.

The Foreign Ministry is in charge of making arrangements for media reporters covering the prime minister's overseas trips.

The broadcaster said that Isao Iijima, Koizumi's key secretary, was unhappy with a report on an NTV program aired Sunday about possible aid to North Korea. Iijima told NTV that its reporters will not be allowed to accompany Koizumi unless it discloses the sources quoted in the report.

NTV officials said Iijima has abused his authority by suppressing the freedom of the press.

In the program, NTV reported that Koizumi plans to announce a plan to provide 250,000 tons of rice to North Korea during his visit to Pyongyang.

Iijima later contacted an NTV official and said the report was an attempt to ruin Koizumi's visit. They said Iijima demanded that NTV retract the report.

On Monday, another of Koizumi's secretaries asked an NHK official who sits on the rotating chair of the press club for Prime Minister's Official Residence to post a note on the press club's bulletin board saying that it would not allow NTV to join the press corps accompanying Koizumi to Pyongyang, they said.

They said that when NTV tried to discuss the matter with Iijima, he refused.

Iijima said Wednesday he would allow NTV to join the trip to Pyongyang if it disclosed the source of Sunday's news, they said. NTV refused to comply.

Other members of the press club said Tuesday they would seek an explanation from Iijima before launching any protest.

A Foreign Ministry official said he was simply following Iijima's order to exclude NTV from the press corps.

"I have never heard of anything like this before," said the official, who asked not to be named.