The North Korean authorities are taking all possible measures to block Sony Picture¡¯s ¡°The Interview,¡± a controversial film based on a fictional plot to assassinate Kim Jong Eun, from entering the country. A recent speech for members of the Party declared that while the viewing of South Korean media content has been tacitly tolerated for some time, going forward, anyone caught watching foreign films that malign the Supreme Leader [Kim Jong Eun] will face severe penalties. 

During the lecture the authorities declared, ¡°We will forgive all those who have watched South Chosun [South Korean] dramas up until now. But moving forward, the viewing of foreign materials is strictly prohibited. In particular, those caught viewing materials from the United States will not be pardoned for even a single transgression,¡± a source in North Hamkyung Province reported to Daily NK on January 23rd.   

Acknowledging the outpouring of foreign video content penetrating the country's borders, the lectures have underscored that viewers can expect no absolution, even by a previously reliable method, bribes, a practice which, according to the speech, would "henceforth be useless."

Bracing for the film¡¯s entry and dissemination within the country, North Korea conducted the presentation as a warning to stave off widespread circulation and influence. ¡°It would be inconceivable for a North Korean resident to seek out and view any film which slanders our Highest Dignity [a common way to refer to Kim Jong Eun],¡± the speaker at the lecture said, in reference to the film, which portrays the young leader as an oafish antagonist.

¡°We very well may choose to make an example out of anyone caught watching an American film by sending them to a political prison camp. In addition, anyone caught carrying the film or distributing it through underground means might be subject to execution,¡± the speaker continued. In addition to these draconian measures, North Korea has tightened up border control and cracked down on smugglers, as previously reported by Daily NK.

The North also sent an official cable to the Cambodian government, ultimately successful in urging the nation to avoid broadcasting the film domestically. ¡°Because the American movie ¡°The Interview¡± insults our Highest Dignity and portrays him as the target of a terrorist attack, the contents are causing our residents to feel intense outrage. Permitting the broadcast of this movie will threaten to undermine the traditionally friendly relationship between our two great nations,¡± the statement read.

However, according to the source, other methods, namely border tightening and crackdowns, prone to failure in the past, are unlikely to be successful at blocking the movie's entry and spread. Myriad routes running across the China-North Korea exist at this point, bringing in a plethora of South Korean media content through ever-evolving systems. He pointed out that it would simply be impossible, even for the extreme measures characteristic of the North Korean authorities, to obstruct all these conduits. Additionally, directly counter to the Party¡¯s intentions, this lecture will likely serve only to drum up interest in, and increased demand for, American films.

On the ground, the film's allure is already palpable. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to say when or if viewers will be punished for this, but residents are starting to become more interested in foreign criticism of the Highest Dignity. Some are requesting related materials through traders who come and go from China,¡± he asserted.

Meanwhile, in order to make good on the threat to severely punish anyone for viewing American films, the organ responsible for the crackdown appears to be making moves, he added, revealing that state surveillance agents are demanding that people not charge the batteries to their EVD players [portable DVD players] in an attempt to ban all viewing of contraband films through the devices. 

¡°The 109 Group [inspection team regulating matters concerning South Korean media] and other groups affiliated with the crackdown will conduct midnight raids and searches on people¡¯s homes in order to find the batteries and discs in question. If the batteries have been charged, the authorities will, at the very least, confiscate any discs or films with outside content found on the premises,¡± the source concluded.