Today, former basketball star Dennis Rodman returns to North Korea, where he plans to meet up with his number one fan, Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. The New York Times reports:
Mr. Rodman said this trip to see Mr. Kim was all about friendship — and sports. “I’ve come out here to see my friend,” he said. “I want to talk about basketball.”
Rodman’s second visit comes at a time when U.S.-North Korea relations are particularly cold-perhaps at their most hostile since the Asian nation’s spate of nuclear tests and belligerent rhetoric during the winter of 2012-2013, in which Rodman’s own Chicago Bulls went 45-37 and would go on to the NBA playoffs (they lost to the Miami Heat in the semifinals). Currently, Kim’s government is holding Kenneth Bae, a 45-year-old American, having sentenced him to 15 years of hard labor. The United States, in turn, employed nuclear-capable B-52 bombers this spring in its military drills with South Korea. This action has prompted the North Korean government to withdraw its invitation to Bob King, the U.S. Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights.
So, basically, Dennis Rodman has arguably made more diplomatic inroads with the regime than the entire U.S. government since the 1950s. Yep, this is real life.
Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated