Defector vows to send 'The Interview' to N. Korea

North Korean defectors prepare to send balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets near the border city of Paju, north of Seoul, on Oct. 10. / Korea Times file

By Lee Min-hyung

Park Sang-hak, president of the Fighters for Free North Korea. / Yonhap

A defector-turned-activist said Monday he will send balloons containing copies of “The Interview” into North Korea next week, despite Pyongyang’s vehement protests against the satirical film.

Park Sang-hak of the Seoul-based civic group Fighters for Free North Korea (FFNK) said he will send DVDs and USB sticks containing the film _ which satirizes the Pyongyang regime and its leader Kim Jong-un _ across the border beginning Jan. 20, according to local media reports.

Park was quoted as saying he would send some 5,000 to 10,000 copies of the film in a demonstration for officials of the New York-based non-profit Human Rights Foundation, who will be here next week to kick off a ten-day visit.

This will be followed by another round of balloon launches in March, carrying 100,000 copies of the film, Park said, according to reports.

Representatives of FFNK were not immediately available for comment. Park has long launched balloons, carrying anti-regime propaganda, across the border.

The Sony Pictures’ movie has prompted a strong backlash from the North because the Hollywood comedy dealt with a fictional plot to assassinate Kim Jong-un.

The North vehemently protested the release of the comedy, but the film was eventually released last month online and in some theaters.

The United States blames Pyongyang for a massive, debilitating hack of Sony Pictures.

On Friday, the Seoul government asked activists here to refrain from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets in the North, due to safety concerns for residents in towns near the border.

“We request activists to make a wise judgment so that residents in the border area do not have to suffer from any life-threatening risks,” unification ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said during a briefing.

Park added that he is considering withdrawing the plan if the government makes an official request calling for him to stop the leaflet campaign, the reports said.