North Korea asks Cambodia to ban screening of 'The Interview'

Seoul, Jan 26 (IANS/EFE) North Korea has asked the Cambodian government to ban the screening of the US film "The Interview", which caricatures North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, arguing that its distribution could harm bilateral relations, South Korean media reported Monday.

The North Korean embassy in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh sent a note to the Cambodian ministry of foreign affairs to take measures to prevent the distribution of the Sony Pictures Entertainment comedy film, according to public broadcaster KBS.

North Korea argued that the feature film starring Seth Rogen and James Franco is distributed by hostile forces -- an apparent reference to the US -- and its dissemination could damage relations between North Korea and Cambodia.

The film, in which two Americans pretend to be journalists to assassinate the North Korean leader, is being circulated in Cambodia on the internet and in markets without control, according to Pyongyang's letter to Phnom Penh.

In neighbouring Myanmar, the police -- at the request of the North Korean government -- began two weeks ago to seize pirated copies of the controversial production which was considered "a declaration of war" by the North Korean regime.

In the case of South Korea, the film is not being distributed in the country to avoid tensions with Pyongyang, and Seoul this month asked anti-North Korean activists to refrain from its plan of sending balloons to the North with copies of the American comedy.

The US blamed North Korean hackers of carrying out the cyber-attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment in November and the White House has raised the possibility of including North Korea once again in the list of countries that sponsor terrorism.

--IANS/EFE

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