Ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman spoke about his recent trip to North Korea with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week.” During the interview, Rodman defended his trip, which was criticized by the State Department, and mentioned that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un does not want war with President Barack Obama but rather a phone call to chat about basketball.
“He loves basketball…I said Obama loves basketball. Let’s start there,†as a way to warm up relations between U.S. and North Korea, Rodman said. “He wants Obama to do one thing, call him.”
The United States and North Korea have been at odds over Korea’s successful rocket launch and its vow to settle accounts with the U.S., “with force, not with words.”
Rodman also said that Jong Un was an “awesome guy,” and was not apologizing for Kim, whose human rights record was classified by the State Deparment as one of the worst in the world. “He’s a good guy to me,†Rodman said, adding, that “as a person to person, he’s my friend. I don’t condone what he does.â€