North Koreans got a rare treat this week: a state TV broadcast of the British soccer film "Bend it Like Beckham." 
 
 FILE - In this April 11, 2002, file photo, the three female leading roles, all playing female soccer players, left to right, Shaznay Lewis, Keira Knightley, and Parminder Nagra arrive at the premiere... (Associated Press) 
 
 The 2002 film starring Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Myers and Parminder Nagra aired Dec. 26 _ a break from the regular programming of news, documentaries and soap operas in North Korea, where Western films are largely off limits. 
 
 "This was the first Western film to be broadcast on North Korean TV, and as well as football covered issues such as multiculturalism, equality and tolerance," British Ambassador Peter Hughes told The Associated Press from Pyongyang, where his embassy helped arranged the Boxing Day broadcast. 
 
 Football is extremely popular in North Korea, which sent its men to the World Cup in South Africa in 2010 and whose women's team is a regional powerhouse. 
 
 Britain has been seeking to reach out to North Koreans through football, a sport that has connected the two nations since North Korea first sent a team to the World Cup in England in 1966. 
 
 Earlier in the year, the Middlesbrough Ladies Football Team traveled to Pyongyang to play North Korean clubs. 
 
 "The U.K. advocates a policy of engagement with North Korea because not engaging means not having any influence, and because engagement has the potential to catalyze change," he said in an e-mail interview. 
 
 Hughes said he watched the film in Pyongyang, and AP monitored the broadcast in Seoul. The film that aired appeared to be an edited version. 
 
 "Bend it Like Beckham," by director Gurinder Chadha, tells the story of a British Asian teen struggling with family pressures and cultural expectations as she plays the sport she loves and works to fulfill her dream of competing in the United States. 
 
 "Apparently the people were amazed that a Western film was shown, and there has been a buzz around the country as the people have talked about the film and its content," Hughes said. 
 
 In a tweet Thursday, the British Ambassador to South Korea, Martin Uden, praised his counterparts at the British Embassy in Pyongyang for arranging the broadcast. 
 
 "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," he wrote. ||||| Max Nash, AP 
 
 For the first time ever, North Koreans got a kick out of watching a Western film on state TV: "Bend It Like Beckham."The British Embassy in Seoul helped arrange the screening on the day after Christmas, according to a Twitter post by the U.K. ambassador to Seoul , Martin Uden."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.It's the first time a Western-made film has ever aired on North Korean TV, where media are tightly controlled by the government, the South Korean Yonhap news agency reported . Pyongyang's state TV usually airs soap operas with nationalist themes or "news" programs praising the country's leaders.The British-made film stars Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Parminder Nagra. It hit theaters around the world in 2002, and the original version is 112 minutes long. But the version aired Dec. 26 on North Korean state TV was about 104 minutes long, suggesting some editing was done, the BBC reported The film is mostly about a young girl who aspires to become a soccer star, but it also touches on topics deemed as taboos in the reclusive, tightly controlled communist North: homosexuality, interracial relationships and religion.During the rare broadcast, a message scrolled along the screen saying it was shown to mark the 10th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Britain and Pyongyang.Soccer is hugely popular in North Korea, where the men's national team qualified for and traveled to the World Cup in South Africa this past summer. North Korea first sent a team to the World Cup in England in 1966.
– North Koreans got treated to the country’s first-ever televised Western film this week: Bend It Like Beckham. News, soaps, and documentaries usually dominate the airwaves, and Western movies are restricted, the AP reports. The broadcast seemed to be an edited version of the Keira Knightley- and Jonathan Rhys Myers-led film; a banner that appeared during the film said it marked the 10th anniversary of North Korean-British ties, AOL News notes. The British embassy in Pyongyang reportedly helped to arrange the broadcast. The movie, about a British Asian girl’s quest to succeed in soccer amid a culture clash, covers “issues such as multiculturalism, equality and tolerance,” said the British ambassador. “Apparently the people were amazed that a Western film was shown, and there has been a buzz around the country as the people have talked about the film and its content,” he noted. Soccer is huge in North Korea, and has provided a way for Britain to engage with the country.