Dennis Rodman Leads Basketball Diplomacy with North Korea
Dennis Rodman is exploring basketball diplomacy with North Korea, hoping to open doors and initiate dialogue between Kim Jong-un and US President Barack Obama.
Rodman plans to train a North Korean basketball team for a pair of exhibition matches against a US team in January.
The former NBA star will conduct the first-ever television interview with Kim, who "wants to change", and described him as a friend.
Rodman's efforts may prove an unusual source of intelligence on the secretive country, with him revealing Kim's daughter's name, Ju-ae, in an interview.
The goal of the basketball games is "to open doors", said Rodman, an expert rebounder and defensive player who won NBA championships with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls.
Rodman will return to North Korea for a week in December to assemble and train the team for two games against an American team on January 8, Kim's birthday, and January 10 in Pyongyang.
The White House has said the United States has direct channels of communication with North Korea and declined to directly respond to Rodman's message that Kim hoped to hear from Obama.
Rodman told a news conference that "I would love to make this a gimmick and make a bunch of money, but it's not about the money", it's about trying to open Obama's and everyone's minds.
One expert called Rodman's efforts "entertaining" but "irrelevant" to international diplomacy over North Korea's nuclear program or human rights record.
Jae Ku, director of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said "I can't think of any serious expert that thinks Rodman has created a window of opportunity for us to somehow reach out to North Korea".
Rodman may nonetheless prove a valuable source of information on the secretive country, with his unique relationship with Kim.
The United Nations has said systematic human rights violations have persisted since Kim took over after his father's death in 2011.
Rodman said he has told Kim that "your grandfather and your father did some bad things", but "you are trying to change something".
Kim has presided over two long-range rocket launches and a nuclear test in February, which drew condemnation from around the world.
Rodman's previous visit in February came shortly after North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in defiance of U.N. resolutions.
The former NBA star said upon his return from that trip that Kim wanted to receive a call from Obama, an avid basketball fan.
In May, Rodman wrote a message on Twitter calling for Kim to release Kenneth Bae, the Korean-American Christian missionary who was arrested in North Korea.