Former NBA star Dennis Rodman has touched down in the despotic hellhole that is North Korea for the second time in 2013, reports The Guardian.
The Worm told flanking reporters in an airport in Beijing yesterday that his trip is personal and he wants to visit his friend, dictator Kim Jong-Un, as well as possibly set up a basketball league in the country (how long is he planning to stay?).
Rodman told Reuters in Beijing on September 2:
I’m going to North Korea to meet my friend Kim. It’s a friendly gesture.
I just want to meet my friend Kim, the marshal, and start a basketball league over there, I have not been promised anything. I am just going there as a friendly gesture. I’m just going there on another basketball diplomacy tour.
I’m calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him “Kim”, to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose.
— Dennis Rodman (@dennisrodman) May 7, 2013
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On May 7, Rodman asked Kim Jong-un to release U.S. citizen Kenneth Bae. Bae was convicted on April 30, 2013, of a range of offenses including attempting to overthrow the government and promoting Christianity. He was sentenced to hard labor, which reportedly involves working long hours on a farm. A huge diplomatic operation was undertaken by South Korea and the U.S. as both countries tried to open a dialogue with the North over Bae. Bae’s sister has said that her brother is losing a lot of weight and has numerous health concerns.
Arrival of @dennisrodman & delegation at Pyongyang airport: #DPRK pic.twitter.com/HTUulBshyx
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) September 3, 2013
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Rodman first went to North Korea in February 2013, when he was photographed laughing and joking with the communist dictator while watching basketball. The ex-hoops legend was roundly criticized for fraternizing with the enemy but Rodman maintains that the U.S. and North Korea can get along.
