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North Korea turns 'We are the World' and 'Call of Duty' into space race propaganda

North Korea turns 'We are the World' and 'Call of Duty' into space race propaganda

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via puu.sh
via puu.sh

North Korea's consistently strange propaganda looks to have become even more surreal: a video posted on LiveLeak incorporates both "We Are the World" and Call of Duty footage in what appears to be a disturbing and poorly rendered celebration of the country's space program. LiveLeak says the video was posted to North Korean central news site Uriminzokkiri; it's framed as a dream sequence, with a citizen imagining one of the country's recently-tested rockets launching to the strains of Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie's famous song. After passing over a glittery computer-generated Earth with a now-unified Korea, the camera cuts to missiles striking New York City — pilfering, as Kotaku's pointed out, the above attack on a Russia-occupied Manhattan in Modern Warfare 3.

North Korea has become a go-to villain for both Hollywood and the gaming industry — both Homefront and the recent Red Dawn remake notably switched their Chinese enemies for North Korean ones over fears of offending a Chinese audience — but in this case, it's not overtly celebrating its own future attack. "I can see a black smoke coming from somewhere in America," the video says. "It seems that the nest of wickedness is ablaze with the fire started by itself." Maybe the creators played Modern Warfare 3 after all.