North Korea UN Mission Voicemail Hacked With Racist Satire

The voicemail of North Korea's permanent mission to the United Nations in New York was apparently hacked sometime within the past three years, replacing the standard greeting with a satirical monologue. CNN discovered the altered message in late September while attempting to contact the mission. The recording featured a high-pitched voice using a racist caricature of an East Asian accent, joking about mass starvation and leader Kim Jong Un. The message suggested callers leave a message for Kim so that "someone (will) get fed sometime soon," before an automated voice noted the mailbox was full. North Korea has faced chronic food shortages, with the UN World Food Programme estimating over 40 percent of the population is undernourished. A male staffer at the mission initially refused to discuss the recording, claiming "This is not our number," and slammed the door. Days later, the mission published the same number on the cover of the vice foreign minister's UN General Assembly speech. As of Wednesday evening, the message appears to have been removed, replaced by a simple beep.