(CNN) -- Former basketball star Dennis Rodman arrived in Pyongyang Tuesday on a five-day visit amid speculation he may try to negotiate the release of jailed U.S. citizen Kenneth Bae, China's Xinhua news agency reported.
In Beijing, the gateway for flights to Pyongyang, Rodman told Reuters he was on another "basketball diplomacy tour" and would not be discussing the release of Bae.
"I'm not going to North Korea to discuss freeing Kenneth Bae," Rodman told Reuters in a telephone interview before he left Beijing for Pyongyang. "I've come out here to see my friend (Kim) -- and I want to talk about basketball," he added.
Later pushing through a throng of journalists at Beijing airport, the 6 foot 7 inch (2.01 meter) former basketballer said: "I'm just trying to go over there to meet my friend Kim, the Marshal. Try to start a basketball league over there, something like that."
In May: Rodman asks Kim Jong Un to let U.S. citizen go
However, he told the Huffington Post last week that he would likely broach the issue with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
A North Korean court has sentenced Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen, to 15 years of hard labor for committing "hostile acts" against the state. Those alleged acts were not detailed by the country's state-run news agency when it announced the sentence Thursday, May 2. Bae, here in a photo from a Facebook page titled Remember Ken Bae, was arrested in November. "This was somebody who was a tour operator, who has been there in the past and has a visa to go to the North," a senior U.S. official told CNN.
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"I gave (Kim Jong-un) a great indication of when I'm going to Beijing soon -- that's just a hop, skip and a jump from North Korea. So basically, you know, I'm pretty sure I'll be talking to him soon," Rodman told the Huffington Post.
Rodman is North Korean leader's 'friend for life'
"I will definitely ask for Kenneth Bae's release," he said. "I will say, 'Marshal, why is this guy held hostage?' I could try and soften it up in that way."
"If the Marshal says, 'Dennis, you know, do you want me to let him loose?' and then if I actually got him loose -- and I'm just saying this out the blue -- I'd be the most powerful guy in the world."
READ: North Korea agrees to family reunions
Rodman's trip -- which is being sponsored by Irish bookmaker Paddy Power -- is the second to the hardline Communist state this year. In March, Rodman was pictured with Kim, an ardent basketball fan, laughing and eating while watching an all-star basketball match.
He was criticized over the trip which came at a time of escalating tension, with North Korea threatening missile strikes on the U.S., South Korea and Japan.
READ: Bae's sister: He's not a spy
Rodman has previously made no secret about his desire to help Bae. He once tweeted that he wanted the 30-year-old unchallenged leader of North Korea to "do him a solid" by freeing him.
Bae was sentenced to 15 years hard labor in February after he was convicted of unspecified "hostile acts" against North Korea. The country's state-run Korean Central News Agency said the Korean-American was arrested late last year after arriving as a tourist in Rason City, a northeastern port near the Chinese border.
North Korea last week canceled a "humanitarian mission" by Robert King, U.S. special envoy on North Korean human rights issues to Pyongyang, aimed at negotiating the release of Bae, citing annual military drills last week by the U.S. and South Korea.
In North Korea, Rodman fouls out
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Mexican authorities arrested Yanira Maldonado, a U.S. citizen, right, on May 22, for alleged drug possession. She and her husband, Gary, were traveling from Mexico back to the United States when their bus was stopped and searched. She was released on Friday, May 31 and is back in the U.S.
North Korea has arrested Americans before, only to release them after a visit by a prominent dignitary. Journalists Laura Ling, center, and Euna Lee, to her right, spent 140 days in captivity after being charged with illegal entry to conduct a smear campaign. They were freed in 2009 after a trip by former President Bill Clinton.
Former President Jimmy Carter negotiated the release of Aijalon Gomes, who was detained in 2010 after crossing into North Korea illegally from China. Analysts say high-level visits give Pyongyang a propaganda boost and a way to save face when it releases a prisoner.
Eddie Yong Su Jun was released by North Korea a month after he was detained in April 2011. His alleged crime was not provided to the media. The American delegation that secured his freedom included Robert King, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues.
Robert Park was released by North Korea in 2010 without any apparent U.S. intervention. The Christian missionary crossed into North Korea from China, carrying a letter asking Kim Jong Il to free political prisoners and resign. North Korea's state-run news agency said Park was released after an "admission and sincere repentance of his wrongdoings." Here, Park holds a photo of Kim and a malnourished child during a protest in Seoul.
Josh Fattal, center, Shane Bauer and Sarah Shourd were detained by Iran while hiking near the Iraq-Iran border in July 2009. Iran charged them with illegal entry and espionage. Shourd was released on bail for medical reasons in September 2010; she never returned to face her charges. Bauer and Fattal were convicted in August 2011, but the next month they were released on bail and had their sentences commuted.
An Iranian court threw out a death penalty conviction last year for Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine charged with spying. But he still remains in solitary confinement at Iran's notorious Evin Prison. Hekmati was detained in August 2011 during a visit to see his grandmother; his family and the Obama administration deny accusations that he was spying for the CIA.
Haleh Esfandiari, an Iranian-American scholar, was also detained at Evin Prison, spending months in solitary confinement before Iran released her on bail in August 2007. Esfandiari was visiting her ailing mother in Tehran when she was arrested and charged with harming Iran's national security.
Alan Gross, at right with Rabbi Arthur Schneier, has been in Cuban custody since December 2009, when he was jailed while working as a subcontractor. Cuban authorities say Gross tried to set up illegal Internet connections on the island. Gross says he was just trying to help connect the Jewish community to the Internet. Former President Jimmy Carter and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson have both traveled to Cuba on Gross' behalf, but they were unable to secure his release.
Sixteen Americans were among the dozens arrested in December 2011 when Egypt raided the offices of 10 nongovernmental organizations that it said received illegal foreign financing and were operating without a public license. Many of the employees posted bail and left the country after a travel ban was lifted a few months later. Robert Becker, right, chose to stay and stand trial.
Freelance reporter James Foley went missing in November after his car was stopped by gunmen in Syria. He is likely being held by the Syrian government, according to the GlobalPost, an online international news outlet to which he contributed, and Foley's brother.
Filmmaker Timothy Tracy was arrested in Venezuela in April on allegations of funding opponents of newly elected President Nicolas Maduro, successor to the late Hugo Chavez. Tracy went to Venezuela to make a documentary about the political division gripping the country.
Retired FBI agent Robert Levinson has been missing since 2007. His family says he was working as a private investigator in Iran when he disappeared. It's believed Levinson, now 64, is being held captive somewhere in southwest Asia.
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