Former NBA great Dennis Rodman isn’t abandoning plans to travel to North Korea to help train the country’s basketball team — regardless of the execution of Kim Jong-un’s uncle and the purge of several from top-ranking political spots.
Mr. Rodman, who has on previous occasions described the North Korean dictator as his “friend for life,” is due to arrive in Beijing and then travel to North Korea by Thursday, The New York Times reported. He’ll be carting a camera crew from the company Paddy Power of Dublin with him to film a documentary on the training sessions.
Company spokesman, Rory Scott, said to The Times that they’ll all leave North Korea on Monday — but in the meantime, they weren’t worried about the recent reports of the execution of Mr. Kim’s uncle.
“We spoke to a lot of experts who said it’s safe for foreigners to travel to North Korea,” Mr. Scott said, The Times reported.
This is hardly Mr. Rodman’s first trip. He traveled to North Korea a few months ago and became what he described as friends with Mr. Kim, developing a solid bond over a shared love of basketball. These current travel plans had been scheduled before the execution of Jang Song-thaek, No. 2 leader in the nation.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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