The Worm and The Dictator

Dennis Rodman (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

North Korea is a land that sits above the 38th Parallel from its neighbor South Korea.  We don't know much about the country because its government bans most international visitors.  We do know (by way of anecdotal evidence) that its people are desperately poor and oppressed, while its leaders tease the rest of the world with firing nuclear test missiles and indulging in American pop culture.

Recently, the world saw Kim Jong-un get chatty with former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who was in North Korea for a series of basketball exhibitions with members of the Harlem Globetrotters.  Reportedly, they are the first Americans to have met Kim ever since he took power upon Kim Jong-il's death in 2011.  It must have gone really well because Rodman started referring to Kim as a close personal friend of his.  And he wanted to relay a message from Kim to President Barack Obama:  Call me maybe?

Rodman's skills as a diplomat have been pooh-poohed by the White House and the State Department, possibly hinting that he's being used for propaganda purposes.

Kim has become quite proficient in the art of saber rattling in the short time he's been North Korea's New Leader.  In response to ever-more stringent economic sanctions, Kim has been authorizing the launching of test nuclear missiles capable of possibly hitting the west coast of the United States.  Now he's threatening to undo the 60-year old cease fire agreement with South Korea.  Both countries have remained in a state of war since 1953.

It's been years since Rodman, whose flair for outrageousness sometimes exceeded his basketball talent, has been relevant.  He's won five NBA titles during his playing career--two with the Detroit Pistons and three with the Chicago Bulls during the 1990s (although he had lots of help from a couple of guys named Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen).  But Rodman's penchant for calling attention to himself through various forms of body art and bizarre behavior have gotten him into trouble on and off the court.  That includes dating Madonna, and a brief marriage to Carmen Electra. These days, Rodman is a reality TV star who can currently be found trying to avoid getting "fired" by Donald Trump on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice".

Whether this brand of "basketball diplomacy" has any chance of easing relations between the United States and North Korea remains to be seen.  Who knows, this just might be the start of a beautiful (if strange) relationship between The Dictator and The Worm.