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North Korea slams movie about killing Kim Jong-un

June 23, 2014

“The Interview” poster.

By Joel Lee

North Korea lashed out at an upcoming Hollywood action comedy about assassinating Kim Jong-un, saying it “shows the desperation of the US government and American society.”

“The Interview,” directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, is a tale about two CIA agents who travel to North Korea disguised as talk-show hosts to assassinate the leader.

Dave Skylark and Aaron Rapoport play the secret agents, and Korean-American actor Randall Park plays Kim Jong-un.

Understandably, the regime’s actual response was not welcoming. Kim Myong-chol, executive director of The Centre for North Korea-US Peace and an unofficial spokesman for Pyongyang, told The Telegraph:

“There is a special irony in this story-line as the film about the assassination of a foreign leader mirrors what the US has done in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Ukraine.”

Adding a touch of cynicism, Kim said, “And let us not forget who killed President John F. Kennedy — the Americans.”

“In fact, President Obama should be careful in case the US military wants to kill him as well.”

Kim slammed American films for being “full of assassinations and executions,” but praised British films.

“James Bond is a good character and those films are much more enjoyable,” he said.

Ironically, “Die Another Day” released in 2002 and featuring Pierce Brosnan, also portrays North Koreans as villains. At the time, the Stalinist authorities described the film as “dirty and cursed.”

Kim Jong-un’s late father, Kim Jong-il, was famously parodied in the 2004 comedy hit, “Team America: World Police,” where he is portrayed as an evil terrorist.

The trailer for “The Interview,” available on Youtube, has garnered mixed reviews.

Some commentators called the plot “silly” and “extremely irresponsible,” saying a plot based on assassinating another country’s leader on US government orders was not funny.

The film is due for release in October.