Who is Dennis Rodman? What is his relationship with Kim Jong Un and North Korea

Dennis Rodman is a former US NBA star who during his active years played for the Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bull, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, and Los Angeles Lakers. Rodman was a very strong and fierce defender during his playing days with very bouncing abilities that he was nicknamed “The Worm”.

He describes himself as a “bad boy” and was well known for dyeing his hair different colors and having numerous piercings and tattoos. After retiring from his NBA career, Dennis Rodman remained relevant and dabbled in many other things like acting, wrestling and even writing – he wrote several autobiographies.

Dennis Rodman was a member of the New World Order (nWo) and fought alongside former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan at the Beach events, first in 1997 against Lex Luger and The Giant, and second in 1998 against Diamond Dallas Page and Karl Malone.

In December 2008, Rodman was declared the winner of the first-ever Celebrity Championship Wrestling Tournament co-produced by Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment and Hulk Hogan.

Rodman had lead roles in two action films Double Squad and Simon Sez which were blockbusters in 1997 and 1999 respectively. He had his own television show The Rodman World Tour and also appeared in a few other reality series. In 2004, Dennis won $222,000 as the main prize for the 2004 edition of Celebrity Mole

Recently, the former NBA star started making headlines to get into what the media calls slam-dunk diplomacy. Rodman, who recently became a self-taught diplomat, struck up an unexpected friendship with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un and believes he could smooth things over between the United States and the Asian country. This made people wonder what the strange relationship between the two is. Here’s everything we know!

Dennis Rodman’s relationship with Kim Jong Un and North Korea

The former NBA and Celebrity Championship wrestling tournament winner who is close to US President Donald Trump also calls North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un his friend and this unexpected friendship began in 2013 when Rodman visited North Korea. for the first time with Ryan Duffy (assistant media correspondent) to host basketball. exhibitions curated by Kim.

Kim would love basketball and growing up watching Rodman’s team, the Chicago Bulls, play in the 1990s. After the then visit in 2013, Dennis Rodman described Kim as a lifelong friend and suggested that the Former US President Barack Obama called the leader for peace talks because of their shared love for basketball. He also told Sports Illustrated that his mission was to break the ice between the two hostile countries and that he believed it was up to him to sort things out.

Since the 2013 visit, Rodman has made several other trips to the Asian country with his approach to basketball diplomacy. His last visit was in June 2017. Speaking about his bromance with the bully boss, Good Morning Britain reported that he hangs out with Kin all the time and they laugh, sing karaoke and do lots of other fun things like skiing and horseback riding.

Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, revealed trust as what has kept his relationship with Kim Jung Un going these years. He added that he was not discussing politics with Kim but that he hoped to open the door to political discourse with him very soon and tell him that the United States did not want war.

His role in the US-North Korea summit

Dennis Rodman’s bromance with the Korean leader left many wondering what role he would play at the upcoming US-Korea summit on June 12, 2018 as the former NBA player would meet Kim in Singapore ahead of the summit.

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It’s unclear what his role will be at the summit, but political analysts believe Rodman could play a very vital role in negotiations between the two leaders he is familiar with. Rodman had, in March 2018, congratulated the two leaders on their decision to finally meet. When asked if he would like to accompany Trump on the trip, he said he would like to be asked.

The summit held at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island, Singapore on June 12, 2018, was the first in history between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.