The Interview, starring James Franco and Seth Rogen as American talk show hosts sent to assassinate Kim Jong-un, does not look very funny — an assessment the North Korean state agrees with wholeheartedly.

The Telegraph contacted Kim Myong-chol, unofficial DPRK spokesman and Kim Jong-un associate, for insight into the regime's opinions on the film, and he was unsparing in his criticism:

"There is a special irony in this storyline as it shows the desperation of the US government and American society," he told The Telegraph.

"A film about the assassination of a foreign leader mirrors what the US has done in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Ukraine," he added. "And let us not forget who killed [President John F.] Kennedy – Americans.

"In fact, President [Barack] Obama should be careful in case the US military wants to kill him as well," Kim Myong-chol said.

But what about Bond?

Kim Myong-chol dismissed Hollywood movies as being "full of assassinations and executions" and expressed the opinion that British films are far better and more realistic.

"James Bond is a good character and those films are much more enjoyable," he said.

Die Another Day, which saw Pierce Brosnan's Bond battling North Korean forces, is an exception. That film, the Telegraph points out, was condemned in state media as "dirty and cursed" upon its release.

Criticism aside, the Supreme Leader will likely watch The Interview, Kim Myong-chol said. And who can blame him? You'd at least have to see whether you die at the end.