James Franco, Seth Rogen movie is 'undisguised terrorism'
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A new comedy starring James Franco is about a plot to assassinate Kim Jong Un
North Korea says the movie hurts "the dignity of the supreme leadership"
Distributing the film is "the most undisguised terrorism and a war action," an official says
Comedians have taken shots at the regime in the past, notably in "Team America"
(CNN) -- James Franco won't be following Dennis Rodman into North Korea anytime soon.
Franco's latest movie -- a comedy about two talk show hosts who are asked to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un -- has earned the distinction of a frothing rant from the regime in Pyongyang.
"The enemies have gone beyond the tolerance limit in their despicable moves to dare hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership," a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman told the country's state-run news agency Wednesday.
The film, titled "The Interview," stars Franco and Seth Rogen as two lightweight talk show hosts recruited by the CIA to take out Kim. It's not due in theaters until October, but the trailer is already drawing worldwide attention, including in the corridors of power in Pyongyang.
'Team America'
The distribution of the movie is "the most undisguised terrorism and a war action to deprive the service personnel and people of the DPRK of their mental mainstay and bring down its social system," the North Korean spokesman raged, using an abbreviation of the authoritarian country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Comedians taking shots at North Korea's dictatorial leadership is hardly new -- it goes back at least a generation.
A decade ago, "Team America: World Police" used puppets to lampoon Kim's father, Kim Jong Il, memorably featuring him singing about his loneliness at the top of the despotic state.
Kim Jong Il also popped up as a waiter in NBC's "Thirty Rock" -- albeit one who claimed to be "the greatest waiter of all time."
Brutal regime
The situation in North Korea is no joke. A recent United Nations commission detailed a horrifying list of crimes it says the regime has committed against its own people, including the large-scale use of prison camps and torture.
The cold-blooded brutality of the system was displayed late last year when Kim Jong Un's uncle was purged and executed.
Meanwhile, the isolated state continues to develop its nuclear weapons program, which it has used to threaten neighboring countries and the United States.
Will Kim watch?
But like his father, Kim Jong Un has also brought about bizarre moments in his two and a half years in power, such as his basketball-based friendship with Rodman.
Such peculiar behavior, along with the secrecy in which the regime cloaks itself, is hard for comedians to resist.
The Telegraph last week cited Kim Myong-chol, the executive director of the Centre for North Korea-U.S. Peace and a frequent visitor to Pyongyang, as suggesting that Kim would probably watch the new movie.
That prompted glee from Rogen, who also co-directed and wrote the film.
"Apparently Kim Jong Un plans on watching #TheInterview. I hope he likes it!!" he tweeted.
'Towering hatred'
But the North Korean government showed little sign of favor toward the film on Wednesday, accusing the United States of "bribing a rogue movie maker" to produce it.
And it warned that Franco and Rogen's comedy, which it said had touched off "the towering hatred and wrath of the service personnel and people of the DPRK," would have consequences.
"Those who defamed our supreme leadership and committed the hostile acts against the DPRK can never escape the stern punishment to be meted out according to a law wherever they might be in the world," the foreign ministry spokesman said.
"If the U.S. administration connives at and patronizes the screening of the film, it will invite a strong and merciless countermeasure."
By Jethro Mullen, CNN
June 25, 2014 -- Updated 1145 GMT (1945 HKT)
ベルギー韓国に勝利 アジア勢１勝もできず6月27日 7時01分
サッカーのワールドカップブラジル大会、１次リーググループＨの韓国対ベルギーは、ベルギーが１対０で勝ちました。
すでに３大会ぶりの決勝トーナメント進出を決めていたベルギーは、３勝でグループ１位での通過です。
韓国は２敗１引き分けで、今大会に出場したアジアの４チームは、１勝もできませんでした。
韓国大統領 新首相指名を断念6月26日 12時12分
韓国のパク・クネ大統領は、次の首相に指名した候補者らが野党などの反対で相次いで辞退に追い込まれたことを受けて、旅客船沈没事故の際の不手際の責任を取って辞任するはずだった現在の首相をやむなく留任させることを決めました。
韓国のパク・クネ大統領は、ことし４月の旅客船沈没事故で政府の不手際が厳しく批判されたことから政権人事の刷新を進めていて、チョン・ホンウォン首相が政府の対応の責任を取って辞任することになっていました。
ところが、大統領が先月、次の首相として指名した最高裁判所の元裁判官は、退官後に得た高額の弁護士報酬が問題視され、首相就任を辞退しました。
今月になって、今度は有力紙の元主筆が指名されたものの、「わが国が日本の植民地になったのは神の意志だった」などと発言していたことが反発を招き、やはり辞退に追い込まれました。
韓国大統領府の報道官は２６日午前、パク大統領がチョン・ホンウォン首相の辞任の意向を却下し、留任させることを決めたと発表するとともに、「国政の空白と国論の分裂を放置できず苦心の末に決めた」と述べて、大統領としてもやむをえない判断だったことを明らかにしました。
今回、首相に指名した２人の候補について、野党や国民の反対で相次いで断念を余儀なくされたうえ、結局、新しい首相を選ぶことができなかったことで、大統領府の著しい力不足を露呈した形となりました。
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