Demand For ‘The Interview’ Is Shooting Up In North Korea

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businessinsider.com

Demand For ‘The Interview’ Is Shooting Up In North Korea And Its Government Is Freaking Out

More and more North Koreans are becoming aware of the North Korea-mocking movie “The Interview,” and the government is doing everything to block it from getting smuggled in to the country.

According to Free North Korea Radio, an online radio network made by North Korean defectors, demand for “The Interview” has been shooting up among North Koreans. It says people are willing to pay almost $50 a copy of the movie, which is 10X higher than what a regular South Korean TV show’s DVD would cost in the black market.

In response, North Korea’s State Security Department and The Ministry of People’s Security held an emergency meeting recently, and told its officers to make sure the movie doesn’t make it into the country under any circumstances.

The report says the North Korean government has beefed up its border security inspection level, and even told black market dealers to not bring in any kind of US movie for the time being.

It’s not too hard to see why North Korea is so freaked out by the possibility of “The Interview” reaching its people. The movie makes a blatant mockery of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un - who dies at the end - and breaks the government’s narrative of portraying him as an almighty God.

In fact, Rich Klein of the advisory firm McLarty Associates says that “The Interview” could become “a very real challenge to the ruling regime’s legitimacy.” He writes in the Washington Post:

“Think of the movie as Chernobyl for the digital age. Just as the nuclear catastrophe in the Soviet Union and the dangerously clumsy efforts to hide it exposed the Kremlin's leadership as inept and morally bankrupt, overseeing a superpower rusting from the inside, so does The Interview risk eroding the myths, fabrications and bluster that keep the Kim dynasty in power.”

But even with all the increased inspection, some lucky North Koreans may be able to see “The Interview” soon. North Korean defector and activist Park Sang Hak plans to send copies of “The Interview” to Pyongyang through 33-foot hydrogen balloons as soon as the film becomes available on DVD.

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North Korea has issued a response to the sanctions the U.S. Department of the Treasury levied on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) government following that country's involvement in the Sony cyber attack. "The persistent and unilateral action taken by the White House to slap 'sanctions' against the DPRK patently proves that it is still not away from inveterate repugnancy and hostility toward the DPRK," said North Korea's state-run Central News Agency, the AP reports.

After the FBI determined that North Korea was "centrally involved" in the Sony hack – a conclusion that is now being widely questioned by cyber security experts – President Barack Obama promised "proportional and appropriate" action. The "first aspect" of that response came January 2nd when Obama signed an Executive Order that sanctioned key North Korean individuals and business holdings.


North Korea has consistently denied any involvement in the Sony hack, even though the cyber attack appeared to be inspired by the Kim Jong-un-baiting film The Interview. "The policy persistently pursued by the U.S. to stifle the DPRK, groundlessly stirring up bad blood toward it, would only harden its will and resolution to defend the sovereignty of the country," the Korean Central News Agency said, adding that the new round of sanctions would do nothing to weaken North Korea's 1.2-million-strong military.

The AP writes that the three DPRK-run business ventures and 10 government officials that were sanctioned by the U.S. likely had little to no involvement in the cyber attack itself; instead, they represent that "anyone who works for or helps North Korea's government is now fair game, especially North Korea's defense sector and spying operations," a senior U.S. official told the AP.

The Executive Order marks the first time a country has been sanctioned over a cyber attack. "The order is not targeted at the people of North Korea, but rather is aimed at the government of North Korea and its activities that threaten the United States and others," Obama wrote in his letter to Congress.

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Personally I believe no one should have intervention were the internet is concerned.Not one person or Country owns it.It was built to be used freely.If as a company you decide to broadcast over www then thats a world you don't own..Something President Barack Obama needs to learn.