Former NBA star Dennis Rodman is back in North Korea, and once again, no one really knows why.
Rodman, who arrived in Pyongyang Tuesday, is one of the most peculiar links that the U.S. has with the reclusive North Korean regime. Having bonded with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un over a mutual love of basketball, the former Pistons star has visited North Korea multiple times in recent years.
Rodman claims that he is in North Korea “to see some friends and have a good time,” but he also told reporters that he is visiting the North “to open a door.” He has referred to his previous trips to North Korea as “basketball diplomacy.”
The high-profile star’s visits to North Korea have largely revolved around the sport that made him famous. He watched an exhibition game featuring the Harlem Globetrotters with the young despot in February 2013, and when he visited North Korea again in September that same year, Rodman was allowed to hold Kim’s newborn child. He made another trip the next year with a group of former NBA players.
Rodman has a positive view of Kim Jong Un, and previously told him that he has a “friend for life.”
I’m back! Thanks to my sponsor https://t.co/zBtIFz1QBr. #NorthKorea #PeaceAndLove https://t.co/G7t6PX3WV9
— Dennis Rodman (@dennisrodman) June 13, 2017
The Basketball Hall-of-Famer’s trip to North Korea is sponsored by Potcoin, which offers banking services for the legal marijuana industry. Rodman, who was met at the airport by North Korean Vice Minister of Sports Son Kwang Ho, is expected to be in North Korea until Saturday.
Rodman’s latest visit is the first of the Trump administration, and comes at a time of great tension between Washington and Pyongyang over North Korea’s weapons programs, specifically its regular ballistic missile tests and pursuit of nuclear weapons. Friends with Kim Jong Un, Rodman also has a relationship with President Donald Trump, as he made an appearance on the reality show “Celebrity Apprentice.”
“I’m pretty sure he’s pretty much happy with the fact that I’m over here trying to accomplish something that we both need,” Rodman told reporters in Beijing. When asked about the American citizens detained in North Korea, he simply said that the imprisoned are “not my purpose right now.” Interestingly, just as Rodman arrived, news broke that Otto Frederick Warmbier, an American college student sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea, has been released and is on his way back to the U.S.
Rodman refused to say whether he spoke with the president about his latest trip. Some observers, however, suspect some degree of cooperation or coordination, given Trump’s past comments.
“Rodman would do a better job than the current Ambassador to North Korea,” Trump tweeted several years ago. “His relationship with Kim Jong Un was amazing to see.” He previously told Fox News that “maybe Dennis is a lot better than what we have.” Rodman endorsed Trump for president in 2015.
“Dennis is not a stupid guy,” Trump said in a past interview with Fox & Friends. “He’s smart in many ways, he’s very street wise.” The president has also made similar comments about Kim Jong Un, calling him a “smart cookie” who has overcome great adversity. Trump has also stated that he is willing to meet Kim under the right conditions.
The Department of State is following Rodman’s trip to North Korea. “We are aware of his visit. We wish him well, but we have issued travel warnings to Americans and suggested they not travel to North Korea for their own safety,” Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon told reporters.
Rodman has said that he will reveal the details of his mission when he returns to the U.S.
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