Dennis Rodman: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a 'good-hearted kid'

Dennis Rodman: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a 'good-hearted kid'

Former basketball player describes visit to his friend's private island: 'Just normal people, drinking cocktails and laughing'

theguardian.com, Saturday 2 November 2013 09.08 EDT

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/nov/02/dennis-rodman-north-korea-kim-jong-un

Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, is a "good guy", a "good-hearted kid" who offers the best tequila to his guests on his private island, according to the former basketball player Dennis Rodman.

Rodman talked about his friendship with the North Korean leader in London to promote a basketball game between a Rodman-selected team and a North Korean team to coincide with Kim's 31st birthday on 8 January.

"They need money. I'm not doing it for the money. I'm doing it to open a gap between North Korea and the world. And North Korea has a lot to offer. They want to branch out," Rodman told the Times.

"I'm not saying that the marshal of North Korea is in control. It's the system that's been built for years and years and years. And this young kid is trying to do one thing – to open that gap. To do something to make it work."

The former Chicago Bulls player described his trip to Kim's private island. "It's like Hawaii or Ibiza, but he's the only one that lives there.

"Fifty or 60 people around him all the time – just normal people, drinking cocktails and laughing the whole time. Everything he has is the best."

Rodman would not criticise Kim and emphasised that North Korea was only as bad as Japan, China or Hong Kong."I don't care what the fuck he does over there, what he does over there, what he does over here – between me and him we're friends. I don't care," he said.

Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong Un is the leader of North Korea, and met with Dennis Rodman in 2013.

Note: Dennis Rodman met with Kim Jong Un in 2013, and a player for the Chicago Bulls.

Henry Crown and Company is an investor for the Chicago Bulls.

Susan Crown is a VP at the Henry Crown and Company, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and was a trustee at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Foundation to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Aspen Institute (think tank), and the Brookings Institution (think tank).

George Soros is the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), and the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation.

William J. Clinton is the founding chairman for the Clinton Global Initiative, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), the founder of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation, and led the team for the 2009 humanitarian mission to North Korea.

James S. Crown is the president of Henry Crown and Company, a trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Lester Crown was a lifetime trustee at the Aspen Institute (think tank), is the chairman for Henry Crown and Company, and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago.

Commercial Club of Chicago, Members Directory

http://commercialclubchicago.org/members/e.html

Please note: This link for the members of the Commercial Club of Chicago can no longer be found.

R. Eden Martin is the president of the Commercial Club of Chicago, and counsel at Sidley Austin LLP.

Michelle Obama was a lawyer at Sidley Austin LLP.

Barack Obama was an intern at Sidley Austin LLP.

Sidley Austin LLP is the lobby firm for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP is the lobby firm for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

Vernon E. Jordan Jr. is a senior counsel for Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), Valerie B. Jarrett’s great uncle, a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg (think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Cyrus F. Freidheim Jr. is an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago,

Valerie B. Jarrett is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the senior adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and her great uncle is Vernon E. Jordan Jr.