Add 'North Korea Expert' To Dennis Rodman's Resume
Strange as it may seem, a pierced, tattooed and occasionally cross-dressing former basketball star is now one of the West's leading experts on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman, following his improbable visit to Pyongyang this week, has become the only westerner to have had a one-on-one with the reclusive Kim, who by all accounts enjoys basketball at least as much as testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles.
China's Xinhua news agency reports that Rodman and Kim sat together Thursday watching a basketball game involving North Korea's top players and three members of the Harlem Globetrotters, who were part of the tour. The game ended in a conveniently diplomatic 110-110 tie. Xinhua reports:
"During the match, Rodman, who wore dark glasses and a hat, sat to the left of Kim Jong Un. Without any translators, the two talked directly to each other and laughed, witnesses said."