VOA标准英语2014--嘲讽金正恩,后果很严重

（单词翻译）

Mocking Kim Jong Un, a Serious Matter 嘲讽金正恩,后果很严重

SEOUL—

After major American theater chains decided¹ not to run a new Hollywood comedy about a U.S. plot to assassinate² North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, its financial backer, Sony Pictures Entertainment, decided not to release it. The decision follows a threat by mysterious computer hackers³ to attack theaters showing the movie. North Korea's reaction to the “The Interview” underscores its intolerance for any ridicule⁴ of the country's young leader.

Inside North Korea, Kim Jong Un, like his late father and grandfather, is depicted⁵ as infallible.

The state-controlled media jubilantly reported that he won an election to the Supreme⁶ People's Assembly last year with 100 percent of the vote. Of course, his was the only name on the ballot⁷.

So it is not surprising that North Korea is angry about “The Interview,” a dark comedy that ridicules⁸ the leader before depicting⁹ his assassination¹⁰. The Foreign Ministry¹¹ in Pyongyang called the film an act of war and promised retaliation¹².

Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, South Korea, says Pyongyong is very protective of its leader’s image.

“North Koreans react to satire¹³ very sensitively and there were some cases that they complained about it harming the dignity of their leader in the past,” says Kim Yong-hyun.

North Korea protested the movie “Team America: World Police” that comically depicted Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, when it came out a decade ago. But the country never took any provocative¹⁴ action in response.

That may have changed with the cyber attack on Sony. Pyongyang denied any involvement, but the unknown hackers who released confidential¹⁵ company information had threatened to release more unless the studio cancelled the release of “The Interview.”

Korea analyst¹⁶ Victor Cha with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington says Kim Jong Un’s weeks-long disappearance¹⁷ earlier in the year and the execution of his uncle indicate the young leader may be struggling to solidify¹⁸ his grip on power.

“The leadership transition is now three years old. We still don’t know if it’s entirely¹⁹ complete. There continue to be purges²⁰ inside the country, which gives one the sense that there’s some turn inside the system,” he said.

Cha says lampooning²¹ Kim Jong Un’s carefully managed image can undermine the regime in a way that sanctions or hostile actions cannot.

“They can always rally the people around western hostility²² but western ridicule is harder for them to rally their people around because it raises questions about the leadership,” Cha said.

The commotion²³ over a comedic film is adding to the tension in the region as international talks to curb²⁴ North Korea’s nuclear program remains²⁵ deadlocked²⁶ and the United Nations continues to pressure the regime on charges of human rights abuses.