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Rodman plays down prisoner release as he returns to NK
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Former NBA star Dennis Rodman landed yesterday in North Korea and said he plans to hang out with leader Kim Jong Un, have a good time and maybe bridge some cultural gaps — but not be a diplomat.
Rodman was greeted at Pyongyang’s airport by Son Kwang Ho, vice-chairman of North Korea’s Olympic Committee, days after Pyongyang rejected a visit by a US envoy who had hoped to bring home Kenneth Bae, an American missionary jailed there.
The North abruptly called off the official visit because it said the US had ruined the atmosphere for talks by holding a drill over South Korea with nuclear-capable B-52 bombers.
Rodman said the purpose of his visit was to display his friendship for Kim and North Korea and to “show people around the world that we as Americans can actually get along with North Korea.”
Speaking in Beijing ahead of his flight to Pyongyang — his second trip to North Korea — Rodman declined to say if he would seek Bae’s release. Bae’s health is poor, and he was recently transferred to a hospital.
“I just want to meet my friend Kim, the marshal, and start a basketball league over there or something like that,” said Rodman, wearing rings through his lower lip and each nostril. “I have not been promised anything. I am just going there as a friendly gesture.”
Bae was arrested in November and sentenced to 15 years’ hard labor for hostile acts against the state. Rodman once asked on his Twitter account for Kim to “do me a solid” and release Bae.
“I’m not there to be a diplomat. I’m there to go there and just have a good time, sit with (Kim) and his family, and that’s pretty much it,” Rodman said, adding that he planned to see Kim “pretty soon.”
Rodman first met basketball fan Kim during a visit in February to promote the sport and make a film. US officials frowned on the trip for giving Kim a propaganda boost.
Rodman, however, suggested “basketball diplomacy” could warm relations.
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