Retired US basketball star Dennis Rodman was to visit a North Korean ski resort yesterday, possibly along with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, as his advisers sought to quell an outcry over comments the former player made on an American jailed by Pyongyang.
A source with direct knowledge of Rodman’s itinerary said the 52-year-old was on a helicopter to a new multimillion-dollar resort — one of Kim’s showcase projects.
Rodman, on his fourth visit to North Korea, led a chorus singing Happy Birthday to the leader of the isolated country at a basketball match on Wednesday that Kim attended with his young wife.
Photo: Reuters
North Korean state media said the song was “reflecting [Rodman’s] reverence” for Kim and that he had organized the game as a gift for his birthday, confirming for the first time the young leader’s date of birth. He is believed to be 31.
Rodman drew criticism from rights activists and the family of imprisoned US missionary Kenneth Bae after he appeared to suggest in an interview that Bae, rather than the North Korean authorities, was responsible for his incarceration.
Rodman’s advisers issued a statement attributed to him apologizing for the comments and saying he had made them after he had been drinking on a stressful day.
“I want to apologize, I take full responsibility,” Rodman was quoted by CNN as saying in the statement.
Bae’s sister, Terri Chung, said her family was outraged by Rodman’s comments and that he should use his access to Kim to advocate on Bae’s behalf.
“He is playing games with my brother’s life,” she said.
The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party, dedicated its front page yesterday to the basketball game and published photographs of Kim sitting and laughing with Rodman.
“Dennis Rodman said he was overjoyed and teared up when he met the Dear Respected Marshall again,” the article said.
Separately yesterday, Pyongyang rejected a South Korean proposal to resume reunions of families that have been separated since the Korean War in the early 1950s.
The North wants to link the reunions to a restart of a lucrative joint tourism project at a scenic North Korean mountain, according to South Korean officials.
Pyongyang said talks could take place if the South is willing to discuss “the proposals of our side,” an apparent reference to the project.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of