Activists plans to balloon-drop ‘Interview’ DVDs to North Korea

by Mario Trujillo - 12/31/14 1:37 PM ET

Activists associated with the Human Rights Foundation are mounting a plan to drop 100,000 copies of “The Interview” into North Korea.

The Human Rights Foundation, along with South Korean activists including Park Sang-hak, plan to use weather balloons to get DVDs and USB flash drives containing the movie across the border.

{mosads}The Human Rights Foundation is financing the project and the first drop will not go out until DVDs are made available for purchase. The weather will also play a factor in the drops.

Alex Gladstein, director of institutional affairs for the foundation, called it an “ambitious” goal, which would be ongoing throughout the year.

The fictional comedy depicting a plot by two U.S. journalists to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un set off a firestorm this month. The United States blamed North Korea for a massive hack of Sony Pictures, which is releasing the film.

The hackers threatened a physical attack on movie theaters that showed the film, spurring many to back out. Sony Pictures initially pulled the Christmas release date. But it later reversed course, releasing it in about 300 independent theaters and making it available online.

The Associated Press noted it is unclear how effective the drop will be, because only a small number of North Koreans would have the devices necessary to play the film.

Park, who defected to South Korea with his family more than a decade ago, works as a democracy advocate. He leads a group that uses balloons to send human rights literature and other media across the border, according to the Human Rights Foundation website.

The foundation recently started a “Hack Them Back” campaign, seeking to raise $250,000 to “flood North Korea with films, books and education materials.” They said Park will be one of the many activists it works with. It said it has raised more than $20,000 so far.

This story was updated at 3:25 p.m.

Tags North Korea The Interview