North Korea To Rogen & Franco: Of Course, You Realise, This Means War

We already knew that North Korea isn't exactly thrilled with creative BFFs Seth Rogen and James Franco right now, having taken issue recently with their forthcoming "kill-the-Glorious-Leader" action-comedy The Interview.

However, a new statement released by the Korean Central News Agency has shed an alarming light on just how pissed off they are about the whole thing. As it turns out, they're so mad, they're equating US support for the film with an act of war.

In an article titled, "DPRK FM Spokesman Blasts U.S. Moves to Hurt Dignity of Supreme Leadership of DPRK", a spokesman for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea said, "The enemies have gone beyond the tolerance limit in their despicable moves to dare hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK.

"A preview of a film on insulting and assassinating the supreme leadership of the DPRK is floating in broad daylight in the U.S., a kingpin of international terrorism and its cesspool, shocking the world community."

Well, that last part, where the world community was "shocked" about the film rather than "in giggling fits and pre-ordering tickets", is questionable, but it still gets weirder from there.

"The U.S. has gone reckless in such provocative hysteria as bribing a rogue movie maker to dare hurt the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK," the spokesman said, presumably referring to co-director Rogen and his creative partner, Evan Goldberg.

"This act of not fearing any punishment from Heaven is touching off the towering hatred and wrath of the service personnel and people of the DPRK."

The North Korean spokesman then knocked things up another notch, directly equating the fictional scenario in Rogen and Franco's ridiculous movie with "undisguised terrorism" and an act of war.

"Absolutely intolerable is the distribution of such film in the U.S. as it 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 spokesman said.

"It is [the North Korean people's] firm determination and stamina to mercilessly destroy anyone who dares hurt or attack the supreme leadership of the country even a bit," he continued.

"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.

"If the U.S. administration connives at and patronises the screening of the film, it will invite a strong and merciless countermeasure."

You can read the spokesman's statement in full over at the KCNA's (incredibly dodgy-looking but nonetheless official) website.

In typical flippant style, Rogen seems unfazed about his personal terrorism advisory system blinking well into the red in the wake of the renewed condemnation, taking to Twitter (where else?) to showcase his nonchalance:

If the film at the centre of all this has passed you by so far, you can get up to speed with the trailer below.

Rogen and Franco star as celebrity journalists who win interview time with Kim Jong-un (Randall Park), only to be forced into becoming unwilling would-be assassins for the US government.

The Interview will be released in cinemas on October 10.