Rodman hangs out with Kim

Ex-NBA star, DPRK leader watch ballgame then dine out

Ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman met Democratic People's Republic of Korea leader Kim Jong-un during his journey to Pyongyang, watching the Harlem Globetrotters with the leader and later drinking and dining on sushi with him.

"You have a friend for life," Rodman told Kim before a crowd of thousands on Thursday at a gymnasium where they sat side by side, chatting as they watched players from the DPRK and the United States face off in mixed teams, according to Alex Detrick, a spokesman for the New York-based VICE media company.

Rodman arrived in Pyongyang on Monday with three members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, VICE correspondent Ryan Duffy and a production crew to shoot an episode on the DPRK for a new weekly HBO series.

The encounter makes Rodman the most high-profile US citizen to meet Kim since the DPRK leader took power in December 2011, and takes place against a backdrop of tension between Washington and Pyongyang. The DPRK conducted an underground nuclear test just two weeks ago.

Kim, a die-hard basketball fan, told the former Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls star that he hoped the visit will break the ice between the United States and the DPRK, VICE founder Shane Smith said.

Dressed in a blue suit, Kim laughed and slapped his hands on the table before him during the game at the Jong Ju-yong Gymnasium as he sat nearly knee-to-knee with Rodman.

Duffy said: "The crowd was really engaged, laughed at all of the Globetrotters antics and actually got super loud toward the end as the score got close. It's the most fun I've had in a while."

Smith said Kim and Rodman chatted in English, but Kim primarily spoke in Korean through a translator.

"They bonded during the game," Smith said. "They were both enjoying the crazy shots, and the Harlem Globetrotters were putting on quite a show."

The surprise visit by the flamboyant Hall of Famer known as "The Worm" makes him an unlikely ambassador at a time when DPRK media says the country is girding for battle with the US. Only last week, Kim guided troops in military exercises.

The DPRK and the US fought on opposite sides of the three-year Korean War, which ended in a truce in 1953. The two countries never signed a peace treaty, and do not have diplomatic relations.

Before Thursday's game, Rodman went up to Kim to offer his greetings.

"Warmly welcoming him, Kim Jong-un let him sit next to him," the Korean Central News Agency reported.

The Americans presented Kim with a Harlem Globetrotters uniform. For the half-time entertainment, taekwondo athletes showed off some moves and a "women's brass band presented glamorous rhythmic formations", KCNA said.

Thursday's game ended in a 110-110 tie, with two US players playing on each team.

After the game, Detrick said Rodman addressed Kim in a speech before a crowd of tens of thousands, telling him, "You have a friend for life."

At a lavish dinner later, the leader plied the group with food and drinks and round after round of toasts were made.

"Dinner was an epic feast. Felt like about 10 courses in total," Duffy said. "I'd say the winners were the smoked turkey and sushi, though we had the Pyongyang cold noodles earlier in the trip, and that's been the runaway favorite so far."

Duffy said he invited Kim to visit the US, a proposal met with hearty laughter from the DPRK leader.

Kim said he hoped sports exchanges will promote "mutual understanding between the people of the two countries", KCNA said.

Rodman's trip is the second attention-grabbing US visit this year to the DPRK. Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt made a four-day trip in January to Pyongyang, but did not meet Kim.

In Washington, US State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell said of Rodman's meeting with Kim: "Private, individual Americans are welcome to take actions they see fit."

He said the Obama administration wasn't in touch with Rodman and wasn't making an effort to contact him.

The administration had frowned on the trips by Schmidt and former New Mexico governor Bill Richardson, but has avoided criticizing Rodman's visit, saying it's about sports.

The DPRK's invitation to a man known as much for his piercings, tattoos and bad behavior as for his basketball may seem perplexing. But Kim is known to be a fan of the NBA and has promoted sports since becoming leader.

"We knew that he's a big lover of basketball, especially the Bulls, and it was our intention going in that we would have a goodwill mission of something that's fun," Smith said. "A lot of times, things are just serious and everybody's so concerned with geopolitics that we forget just to be human beings."

Rodman's agent, Darren Prince, said Rodman wasn't concerned about criticism for making the visit.

"Dennis called me last night and said it's been a great experience and he made this trip out of the love of the USA," he said. "It's all about peace and love."

(China Daily 03/02/2013 page6)