North Korea shows first Western film

SEOUL - The British film “Bend It Like Beckham” has reportedly become the first Western film to be broadcast in North Korea, a media report said Friday.

The 2002 film about a girl wanting to be a football star was shown Dec 26, Britain’s Ambassador to South Korea Martin Uden said in a message on the microblogging site Twitter.

The movie starring Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley was broadcast to mark the 10th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Britain and the communist state.

“Happy Christmas in Pyongyang. On 26/12 ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ was 1st ever Western-made film to air on TV. Well done to UK Embassy 4 arranging,” Uden wrote.

The film which deals with topics including religion, interracial relationships and homosexuality was heavily cut, according to some media reports.