North Korea propaganda taken off YouTube after Activision complaint Published duration 6 February 2013

image caption The video showed a city resembling New York being attacked

A propaganda video from the North Korean authorities has been removed from YouTube following a copyright claim by games maker Activision.

The clip showed a young man dreaming about a North Korean space shuttle destroying a city that resembles New York.

But the footage of burning buildings was taken from Activision's top selling game, Call of Duty.

North Korea insists its space programme is for peaceful purposes.

But the country's intent - particularly towards South Korea - has raised concerns leader Kim Jong-un has plans for a ballistic missile system.

The video was posted on Saturday by North Korea's official Pyongyang YouTube channel.

'Wickedness is ablaze'

It shows a futuristic space craft flying around the world and eventually over a city. The buildings are then seen crumbling amid fires and missile attacks.

However, the dramatic images were soon recognised as having been lifted from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, a multi-million selling game released in 2011.

The video contained subtitles, in Korean, which read: "Somewhere in the United States, black clouds of smoke are billowing. It seems that the nest of wickedness is ablaze with the fire started by itself."

Footage of North Korea's own recent rocket launches is also shown in the clip.

Intriguingly, the anti-US footage is sound-tracked by an instrumental version of We Are The World, the 1985 charity single written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.

By Tuesday, the video had been blocked, with a message notifying users of Activision's complaint shown in its place.