Dennis Rodman Speaks Out About Latest Visit To North Korea

Dennis Rodman Speaks Out About Latest Visit To North Korea

Former professional basketball player Dennis Rodman ranted during an interview in his fourth visit to North Korea recently. A number of retired NBA players were brought by the former NBA star for an exhibition game against the national team of North Korea.

The game will be played on the birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. A number of negative comments were made about the trip, which will send a wrong message to the leader of the reclusive country.

Rodman had a heated exchange with Chris Cuomo of CNN when the player was asked if he would bring up the case of a Korean American tour guide who was imprisoned over a year ago. The player implied that the detention of Kenneth Bae was mainly a fault of the evangelist and tour guide.

Dennis Rodman said that the Korean American did something and asked Cuomo if he understood what Bae did in North Korea. He also said that he does not care what the CNN anchor thought. The former basketball star also seemed to portray the trip of the retired players as a sacrifice of their holiday time.

One of the players who accompanied Rodman, Charles Smith, tried to pacify the former professional, and said that the trip can be viewed as a cultural exchange that makes people smile. It remains uncertain if the audience will also include ordinary North Koreans. The elite leadership of North Korea was the audience during a performance of the Harlem Globetrotters last year.

The former NBA player also said that the North Korean leader became his friend for live during his first visit to the country. The latest visit of Rodman was also chastised by the former governor of New Mexico and UN envoy Bill Richardson. Richardson indicated that the Dennis Rodman made a mistake by saying the plight of Bae was the fault of the Korean-American.

Posted by James Fried on Friday January 10 2014, 3:49 AM EST. Ref: LA Times. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0