North Korea blames the US for shutting down its internet and calls President Obama a MONKEY

  • North Korean defense committee lashes out at United States and President
  • Accuses Obama of recklessness and blames them for internet outage
  • Follows release of The Interview, which makes a mockery of Kim Jong Un
  • Film, which shows leader crying and soiling himself, was almost cancelled  

By Associated Press and Kieran Corcoran for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

The North Korean government called President Obama 'a monkey living in a tropical forest' in a racist tirade against the United States, which the dictatorship blames for knocking out its internet.

Officials on the National Defense Commission, led by Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, lashed out at America, calling its leader 'reckless' and saying the U.S. is shameless.

Washington has denied it has anything to do with the disturbance, which has seen the internet repeatedly black out in the country.

Does it work yet? Kim Jong Un, pictured surrounded by military commanders, lashed out at Barack Obama, calling him a 'monkey' in a racist tirade following several internet outages

Does it work yet? Kim Jong Un, pictured surrounded by military commanders, lashed out at Barack Obama, calling him a 'monkey' in a racist tirade following several internet outages

'Reckless': President Obama, pictured above with Michelle Obama on his Hawaiian vacation, was the target of the latest North Korean tirade

'Reckless': President Obama, pictured above with Michelle Obama on his Hawaiian vacation, was the target of the latest North Korean tirade

It comes after North Korean officials claimed the U.S. government also masterminded the production and release of The Interview - a Sony Pictures comedy which was almost cancelled after a massive cyberattack.

Instead, after encouragement from Obama, the film opened on Christmas day in cinemas and online, making more than $1million in its first day and shooting to the top of online rental charts.

The movie, directed by Seth Rogen, shows the assassination of Kim Jong Un. The satirical film depicts Kim as a childish, camp maniac who cries over Katy Perry songs and soils himself live on air.

The Defense Committee has called The Interview illegal, dishonest and insulting. It statement Friday said: 'Obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest.'

All-American opening: The Interview, a controversial satire which was almost derailed by hackers, opened on Christmas Day online and in some theaters in a move which the President praised

All-American opening: The Interview, a controversial satire which was almost derailed by hackers, opened on Christmas Day online and in some theaters in a move which the President praised

Moneymaker: The filmed grossed $1million on its first day. It depicts Kim Jong Un as an effeminate and unstable leader who cried over Katy Perry songs

Moneymaker: The filmed grossed $1million on its first day. It depicts Kim Jong Un as an effeminate and unstable leader who cried over Katy Perry songs

It went on to attack the United States as a whole, saying: 'the U.S., a big country, started disturbing the Internet operation of major media of the DPRK, not knowing shame like children playing a tag.'

It threatened to retaliate for the internet outages, though it did not specify what it would do.

White House officials did not respond.

The Interview was for a time cancelled completely after a hacking cell - which gained access to Sony's network and started leaking embarrassing secrets - threatened to stage real-life terrorist attacks against any theaters which screened the film.

Many major distributors pulled out as a result, but independent theaters filled the gap, while Sony arranged for a simultaneous online release.

 

Tit-for-tat: The film called The Interview shows Kim Jong Un dying after his helicopter is shot down

Offensive? The film, which depicts Kim dying in a fireball after his helicopter is shot down, has sparked fury in Pyongyang

Obama, who had lamented the short-lived cancellation, congratulated Sony when it decided to go ahead with the film after all.

FBI specialists have pinned the devastating hack attack on the North Korean regime - though all its officials deny involvement and some independent experts have queried the attribution.

Korea and the U.S. remain technically in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

The rivals also are locked in an international standoff over the North's nuclear and missile programs and its alleged human rights abuses.

The U.S. stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea as deterrence against North Korean aggression.

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