Dennis Rodman celebrates the end of his 'really good' trip to North Korea
The former basketball star gave Kim Jong-un’s ministers a copy of Donald Trump's bestseller ‘The Art of The Deal’
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Your support makes all the difference.Former NBA superstar Dennis Rodman celebrated the end of a "really good" trip to North Korea that saw him give Kim Jong-un's ministers a copy of Donald Trump's bestseller The Art of The Deal.
Rodman, 56, said last week before departing for Pyongyang that he was trying to bring sports to the increasingly isolated nuclear-armed country.
He has previously described the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who is said to be a basketball fan, as a “friend for life”.
After touching down in Beijing, he said: “Everybody's going to be happy. It was a good day. It was a good trip. A really good trip.”
He declined to answer questions about whether he had played a role in the release of Otto Warmbier, an American student who was recently returned home suffering from brain damage after more than a year in detention in North Korea.
When asked if he had met Kim, he replied: “You’ll find out.” However, he is not thought to have met the secretive Communist state’s leader on his five-day visit.
The former Chicago Bulls defender, nicknamed “The Worm” during his playing career, later tweeted a link to a limited edition T-shirt emblazoned with an “ambassador Rodman” logo, adding: “I come in peace.”
It also emerged that he had taken the US President’s book The Art of The Deal and a copy of a Where's Waldo picture book as gifts.
It’s likely the former basketball star took the children's book for Mr Kim’s daughter, whom he held during a previous visit. He also brought along a jigsaw puzzle that seems unlikely to be for Mr Kim himself.
Rodman has faced ridicule and criticism for his visits to North Korea, which some US politicians and activists view as serving only as fodder for North Korean propaganda.
His earlier trips in 2013 and 2014 included a basketball game that he organised, an event chronicled in the documentary film Big Bang in Pyongyang, which featured Rodman singing “Happy Birthday” to Kim.
Rodman's visit was sponsored by PotCoin, a crypto-currency used by the legal marijuana industry.
He claimed his main reason for the trip was an attempt to “open doors” between the US and North Korea in a video on Twitter.
Tensions have escalated on the Korean peninsula over North Korea's nuclear and missile tests and its vow to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the US mainland, presenting US President Donald Trump with perhaps his most pressing security worry.
Mr Rodman's North Korea visits over the years have fuelled speculation that he could somehow facilitate a diplomatic breakthrough between Pyongyang and Washington.
The US government has issued travel warnings to Americans against going to North Korea.
Mr Rodman was known for his tattoos, body piercings and multicoloured hair, is considered one of the best defensive players and rebounders in NBA history.
He won five league championships with the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls.
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