(Image source: Wikimedia Commons ) BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN AND CHRISTIAN BRYANT Americans know him for his viral hit “Gangnam Style, ” but Korean pop star PSY is now apologizing — not for his invasion of American pop culture — but for some recently discovered anti-American lyrics from nearly a decade ago. TMZ posted this video on its website. The offending song is called “Dear American.” Lyrics include, ‘ Kill those f---ing Yankees who ordered them to torture ... Kill their daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers ... Kill them all slowly and painfully. ’” He’s seen smashing a toy modeled to look like an American tank. The song is not his own. The original is actually by a South Korean metal band. And the translation of “Kill those Yankees” might be a bit of a shoddy translation. The Washington Post posted the lyrics in Korean — and as others in the Twitterverse have pointed out — a closer translation might be the B-word. Nonetheless, the song does refer to Americans. With nearly a billion views on YouTube, and performances and interviews with American shows like “ Ellen, ” “On Air with Ryan Seacrest ,” and “ Today ” — Psy has plenty of American fans. But news of his 2004 performance calling for the killing of Americans rattled fans Friday. The pop star released a statement, which read in part: “The song ... was part of a deeply emotional reaction to the war in Iraq and the killing of two Korean schoolgirls that was part of the overall antiwar sentiment... I’ve learned there are limits to what language is appropriate and I’m deeply sorry for ho Bw these lyrics could be interpreted.” MTV reports , at the time, a South Korean missionary had recently been kidnapped and beheaded by an Islamist group who demanded South Korea cut off support for the U.S. war in Iraq. A White House petition asked President Obama to take back Psy’s invitation to the president’s “Christmas in Washington” event. That petition has since been removed, with officials saying it violated terms of participation. In his statement of apology, Psy also said he understands the sacrifices of American servicemen and women. He told fans he would be quote “forever sorry” for the words.