Rodman and the dictator

Dennis Rodman has made a friend for life, said Graeme Culliford in The Sun (U.K.). While filming a basketball documentary in North Korea recently, the retired NBA star hung out with the country’s reclusive dictator, Kim Jong Un. Rodman found the nuclear-armed tyrant to be surprisingly down-to-earth. “Kim is not one of these Saddam Hussein–type characters that wants to take over the world,” says the former Chicago Bull. “He’s a cool guy who wears everyday, regular clothes and likes music and sports and stuff.” Rodman bonded with the 30-year-old despot over a 15-course banquet at his Pyongyang palace. “I couldn’t believe how much we had to talk about. He loves basketball and told me he’s worn my jersey—No. 91—every day since he was a kid.” After the feast, Rodman partied with Kim and other regime members in a grand ballroom. “It was wackadoo. Kim loves 1980s disco music. There was an all-girl band playing and we were definitely getting down.” Outside the palace, Rodman saw few signs of the poverty and oppression that have made North Korea an international pariah. He noticed that ordinary citizens on the street never smiled, but thinks that’s because they were “busy, not miserable.” Rodman plans to return to Pyongyang this summer. “I can’t wait,” he says. “I’ll be staying in the royal palace.”

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