Dennis Rodman to return to North Korea for third time to see Kim Jong-Un

show ad

'Give Leo An Oscar!' DiCaprio fans set Twitter alight with hilarious memes as #PoorLeo fails to win an award for the FOURTH time
EXCLUSIVE - A secret rendezvous with Princess Diana, an obsession with naked ladies and Demi Moore's bizarre demands: Explosive new memoir reveals JFK Jr.'s wild times at George magazine
'We don't stink!' Dove forced to cancel new deodorant ad calling New Jersey the 'Armpit of America' after consumers boycott brand
Leonardo DiCaprio sued for portraying Native Americans as 'violent, inbred hillbillies' in new film Out Of The Furnace
Twitter dismantles 100-year-old Wild West homestead cabins, ships them 1,000 miles and erects them inside its HQ - just so staff can use them for lunch breaks
'Spoiled' high school cheerleader, 18, sues her retired police chief father for support after he 'kicks her out for refusing to live by the rules'
'There's nothing fashionable about working at McDonald's': Fast food employees accuse Moschino of 'mocking' minimum wage earners with new capsule collection
A Green Tea Latte or McDonald's fries? Calorie-counting infographic shows how Starbucks is actually 'liquid junk food'
The United States of Hatred: From the KKK to black separatists, the 939 hate groups across America mapped
Oscar Pistorius defense witness to testify that he 'screams like a girl' in bid to discredit neighbor's claims Reeva Steenkamp cried out before he opened fire
Female college student, 19, found after 'disappearing 4 days ago when she met a man through dating app Tinder'
Putin watches war games as Russia cranks up the tension with Ukraine whose leaders claim their navy is threatened with being seized
Ukraine crisis hits stock markets and price of gold leaps after Russia declares 'right to invade' its neighbor
Selfskies from the frontline: People of the Crimea pose up with the masked Russian invaders
Ukraine's call to arms: Former prime minister Tymoshenko issues thinly-veiled plea to the West to take military action against Russia
EDWARD LUCAS ANALYSIS: Blood-soaked Crimea, crucible of war for centuries
Perhaps they should have held on to them: Hundreds of rusting tanks abandoned in secret Ukrainian depot unveiled as Russia's armoured vehicles line its streets
Children who have a TV in their bedrooms ARE fatter - even if they rarely watch it
Has your town made you RACIST? Living in 'ethnically diverse' areas makes people more tolerant without knowing it
Tiger Woods' porn star ex-mistress makes Washington's Most Wanted over $20,000 in unpaid child support she owes 14-year-old son
Bad year for sport but great for romance: Tiger bows out of Honda Classic with backache as Sochi-skipping Lindsey plays supportive 'step-mom' to his kids
A life transformed: Gay man's 'anguish and excitement' after leaving his wife and coming out at 30 is captured in haunting self-portraits
Pope drops the F-bomb: Pontiff gets his Italian mixed up during Sunday blessing
Winter storm bears down on East Coast dumping a foot of snow, canceling 2,700 flights and shuttering Washington D.C.

Mr Rodman, who is retired from basketball, to make trip despite current tension caused by dictator's decision to execute his own uncle last week
Comes after Kim Jong-Un ordered for state news records to be deleted
Articles erased include announcement of Kim Jong-Il's death in 2011
Thousands attended memorial ceremony for 'Dear Leader' yesterday

PUBLISHED: 04:12 EST, 17 December 2013 | UPDATED: 18:05 EST, 17 December 2013

View
comments

Retired basketball star Dennis Rodman is to visit his ‘good friend’ Kim Jong-Un in North Korea for a third time this week.

Trip organisers said Mr Rodman is to make the trip despite current tension surrounding the leader’s decision to execute his uncle.

Mr Rodman has visited Pyongyang on two other occasions, during which he spent time dining as a guest of Kim Jong-Un, with whom he says he has a genuine friendship.

Scroll Down for Video

Basketball star Dennis Rodman is to visit North Korea dictator Kim Jong-Un for a third time (both pictured)

This picture shows Kim Jong-Un (centre) with his wife (left) and Mr Rodman (right) on a previous visit

Strange bedfellows: Former basketball star Dennis Rodman of the U.S. shows pictures he took with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the media earlier this year

The visit also comes at a time when there have also been fears for the safety of the dictator’s wife, Ri Sol-Ju.

These fears were largely eased when a video was released showing her with Kim Jong-Un at a memorial service to mark the second anniversary of his father's death.

Before then, she had not been seen for a number of weeks and her absence from official photographs has led to speculation she could have fallen out of favour with a husband who is swift to deliver punishment to anyone who shows the slightest sign of disloyalty.

More...

‘It's certainly safe, even when there is a bit of disruption like there is now - a bit of trouble or chaos - there's even more need for cultural or sporting exchanges,’ said Rory Scott, a spokesman for Irish bookmakers Paddy Power, which has arranged the trip.

In Washington, a State Department official, speaking anonymously, sought to distance the US government from Mr Rodman's visit.

‘We have not been contacted by Mr Rodman about his trip to North Korea,’ said the official. ‘The State Department does not vet U.S. citizens' private travel to the DPRK.’

ARCHIVE: Kim Jong Un seen in public with his wife

They appear to be seen at a memorial service for the second anniversary of Kim Jong-Un's father's death

Ri Sol-Ju and Kim's aunt, Kim Kyong Hui, are the two women to whom the unpredictable Kim turns for advice

Mr Rodman is expected to provide North Korea's national basketball team with four days of training.

He also intends to return to Pyongyang in January with a team of fellow former National Basketball Association stars to hold basketball games on Kim Jong-Un's birthday.

‘Dennis is going to spend a couple of days training the North Korean team to get them ship shape for the January match,’ Mr Scott said.

State in mourning: North Koreans pay tribute to late leader Kim Jong-Il on the second anniversary of his death

Kim Jong-Un looked sombre at an event to mark the second anniversary of the death of his father in Pyongyang, attended by military officials

Re-writing history: Kim Jong-Un looked sombre at an event to mark the second anniversary of the death of his father in Pyongyang, attended by military officials

A military parade is under way at the plaza of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, to commemorate the second anniversary of their 'Dear Leader'

Meanwhile, North Korea's young dictator appears to be trying to change the country's history as the population mourns the death of his father.

The 30-year-old leader has purged North Korea's state news archive, even removing the announcement of Kim Jong-Il's death from two years ago.

On Monday, thousands of North Koreans laid flowers outside the state mausoleum during a remembrance ceremony for their 'Dear Leader' on the second anniversary of his death.

After removing his uncle from his high position and then having him shot in the wake of other 'traitors of the state,' Kim Jong-Un is believed to be behind the country's official news agency's erasing of most of the state news archives.

Dumped from the records are some 35,000 articles held by the Korea Central News Agency, as well as 20,000 articles on the website of the official newspaper of the Workers' Party, Rodong Sinmun.

More...

News of the archives purge has emerged through US website NKNews.org, for which Mr Frank Feinstein, a New Zealand-based analyst, tracks North Korea's media output.

The 'disappearing' of historical events is seen by analysts as a further show of strength by Kim, who has ruled for two years since the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il.

Kim is believed to have decided to start history anew, with the focus being entirely on him.

Tears of the people: Thousands visited the state mausoleum where the bodies of Kim Jong-Il and his father Kim Il-Sung lie embalmed

Bow down: People pay tribute to the late leaders at the bronze statues of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il

A picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows soldiers gathered at Kumsusan memorial palace in Pyongyang

North Koreans came to lay flowers at the state mausoleum long into the night, the official state news agency said

Paying tribute: North Koreans came to lay flowers at the state mausoleum long into the night

DICTATOR'S NEPHEW SEEN AGAIN

Kim Jong-Un's teenage nephew has resurfaced on his university campus in Paris under police protection.

Kim Han-sol is believed to have attempted to go into hiding following the execution of Jang Song-Thaek last week.

The 19-year-old's name was removed from the postbox at prestigious social science university Sciences-Po, which saw South Korean media report that he was hiding for fear of his safety.

On Monday, Kim Han-sol was yet again seen on campus accompanied by several police officers who also partrolled the premises, South Korean news agency Yonhap said.

The move could be an ominous sign for the old guard who have surrounded him.

With his uncle, Jang Song-Thaek being purged and then shot immediately after a show trial last week, it is possible that other ageing generals will also be removed to make way for a younger cadre.

Only one elderly member of Kim's immediate political team has been guaranteed safety from any future purge - his 67-year-old aunt, Kim Kyong-Hui, now the widow of Jang Song-Thaek.

The articles that have been removed from the KCNA website include those about 'major events' in the country's recent history, including the announcement of the death of Kim's father in 2011.

'There were 35,000 articles dated September 2013 or earlier on KCNA in Korean,' said Mr Feinstein.

'If they are leaving the odd one in, it is still a kill ratio of 98 per cent to 99 per cent,' he said in a webpost.

'Dear Leader': Kim Jong-Il, pictured in October two years ago, died on December 17, 2011

A day to remember: North Korean soldiers march on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang as others pay their respects beneath portraits of the late leaders Kim Jong Il, right, and Kim Il Sung

Uniform tribute: This image taken from video, show military officials attending a memorial service for Kim Jong-Il

Uniform: This image taken from video, show military officials attending a memorial service for Kim Jong-Il

As one: Military officials applause after a speech about the late 'Dear Leader'

'This is calculated,' he added, referring to the deletions from the two sites.

'It means the order most likely came from above the individual agencies. That is why it is so interesting - it is not just an internal KCNA purge.'

It is believed that among the articles that have been removed are those suggesting regional

The 'purge period' includes North Korea's missile launches and a stream of proactive statements aimed at the US.

Now state-approved digital records about Kim Jong-Un date back to only October this year.

Mr Feinstein, who lives in Christchurch, said that in addition to the 35,000 original Korean language articles, translations in English, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese were all removed from the archives - bringing the total of deleted articles to nearly 100,000.

NKNews quoted a North Korean expert, who asked to remain anonymous, as saying that the elimination of the articles was 'an extreme action.'

MOST WATCHED NEWS VIDEOS

Comments (30)

Share what you think

View all

The comments below have been moderated in advance.

DL3, Chicago, United States, 2 months ago

The first time you went there I threw out my awesome cups I have had saved from McDonald's in the 90's. Anyone remember those color changing hair cups McD's put out with Rodman? They were awesome...but now they're trash.

121

Click to rate