North Korea's take on new U.S. movie: 'An act of war'
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea is warning that the release of a new American comedy this fall about a plot to assassinate leader Kim Jong Un would be an "act of war."
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea is warning that the release of a new American comedy this fall about a plot to assassinate leader Kim Jong Un would be an "act of war."
If the U.S. government doesn't block the movie's release, it will face "stern" and "merciless" retaliation, an unidentified spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in state media Wednesday.
He did not mention the movie by name but was clearly referring to The Interview, which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as a producer and talk-show host who land an exclusive interview with the North Korean dictator and are then asked by the CIA to assassinate him.
The "reckless U.S. provocative insanity" of mobilizing a "gangster filmmaker" to challenge the North's leadership is triggering "a gust of hatred and rage" among North Korean people and soldiers, the spokesman said.
The film's release would be considered an "act of war that we will never tolerate," he said.
With no independent press, North Korea often holds foreign governments responsible for the content of their media. Pyongyang regularly warns Seoul to prevent its conservative press from mocking or criticizing its leadership, something banned within authoritarian North Korea.
Trailers have been released for the movie, which is to reach U.S. theaters in October.
A spokesman for The Interview's studio, Sony Pictures, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment, but the film's co-writer, co-director, and co-star mocked the controversy on Twitter.
"Apparently, Kim Jong Un plans on watching 'The Interview,' " Seth Rogen tweeted. "I hope he likes it!!"
It's not the first time North Korean leadership has served as comic fodder: A puppet rendition of Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, served as the villain in the 2004 film Team America: World Police, and comedians Margaret Cho and Bobby Lee impersonated the North Korean dictator on the NBC comedy series 30 Rock and the Fox sketch show MADtv.
Randall Park, a Korean American actor, is portraying Kim Jong Un in The Interview.