North Korea brands new Hollywood comedy an 'act of war' #TheElitePartyInJuly #Entertain9jar via @myentertain9jar

THE world's most secretive state has warned the US it will face a "stern" and "merciless" retaliation if it does not block the release of an upcoming Hollywood movie.

 

North Korea says a film which lampoons leader Kim Jong Un is an "act of war"[AP/COLUMBIA]

North Korea's communist government has branded a new American comedy about a plot to assassinate its leader, Kim Jong Un, as an "act of war".
The Interview 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.
However, a spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry railed against the "reckless US provocative insanity" of a "gangster filmmaker", saying the film was causing a "a gust of hatred and rage" among the state's population.
The film's release would be considered an "act of war that we will never tolerate," he added.

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg at a photocall for The Interview [WIREIMAGE]

With no independent press of its own, North Korea often holds foreign governments responsible for the content of their media.
Pyongyang regularly warns South Korea to prevent its conservative press from mocking or criticising its leadership, something banned within authoritarian North Korea, where the Kim family is revered.
Trailers have been released for the movie, co-directed by Rogen and Evan Goldberg, which is set to hit cinemas in October.
The current leader's late father, Kim Jong Il, was a noted movie buff, lauded in the North for writing a treatise on film.
He also ordered the kidnapping of prolific South Korean director and producer Shin Sang-ok in 1978, who then spent years making movies for Kim before escaping.