Dennis Rodman Visits North Korea on Basketball Diplomacy Tour
Basketball Hall-of-Famer Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea Tuesday to begin his second visit to that country this year.
The man nicknamed "The Worm" said earlier in the day he will not try to negotiate the release of an American held by Kim Jong-un's regime since late last year.
"I'm not going to North Korea to discuss freeing Kenneth Bae," Rodman told Reuters from Beijing, the traditional jumping-off point for flights into Pyongyang. "I'm just going there on another basketball diplomacy tour."
"I just want to meet my friend Kim, the marshal, and start a basketball league over there," Rodman told the Associated Press. "I have not been promised anything. I am just going there as a friendly gesture.
"I'm just going over there to have a good time and try to bridge the gap with Americans and North Koreans," Rodman added. "Just let's let people see in America that it's not a bad thing to go to North Korea and have a good time and meet new people."
Rodman previously visited North Korea in late February during a time of heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula. After U.N. sanctions imposed in early March over Pyongyang's February nuclear test, North Korea threatened Washington and Seoul with nuclear and missile strikes and shut down an inter-Korean factory in the North.
Kim Jong-un & Dennis Rodman |
The man nicknamed "The Worm" said earlier in the day he will not try to negotiate the release of an American held by Kim Jong-un's regime since late last year.
"I'm not going to North Korea to discuss freeing Kenneth Bae," Rodman told Reuters from Beijing, the traditional jumping-off point for flights into Pyongyang. "I'm just going there on another basketball diplomacy tour."
"I just want to meet my friend Kim, the marshal, and start a basketball league over there," Rodman told the Associated Press. "I have not been promised anything. I am just going there as a friendly gesture.
"I'm just going over there to have a good time and try to bridge the gap with Americans and North Koreans," Rodman added. "Just let's let people see in America that it's not a bad thing to go to North Korea and have a good time and meet new people."
Rodman previously visited North Korea in late February during a time of heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula. After U.N. sanctions imposed in early March over Pyongyang's February nuclear test, North Korea threatened Washington and Seoul with nuclear and missile strikes and shut down an inter-Korean factory in the North.
Dennis Rodman Visits North Korea on Basketball Diplomacy Tour
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