On the 4th, Chosun Central TV showed a repeat of last week’s basketball game featuring members of the Harlem Globetrotters. The film featured lengthy scenes of the crowd cheering enthusiastically as Kim Jong Eun appeared courtside. Loud roars echoed around as the audience screamed ‘Long live [Kim Jong Eun}!’ Amusingly, and unlike some of the diplomatic staff in the audience, the three Globetrotters clapped quietly along to the end.
The next person to receive an enthusiastic welcome on the plinth was NBA star and professional provocateur Dennis Rodman. With his piercings and perma-sunglasses, he gave Kim Jong Eun a big hug. They kept talking throughout the game, although Kim took interpretation. Eventually, he invited Rodman to dinner.
There, Kim apparently expressed his desire to improve relations with the U.S., a position that Rodman repeated upon his return in an interview with U.S. broadcaster ABC.
“Kim Jong Eun does not want war with the U.S. and wants President Barack Obama to call him,” he declared, noting that Obama and Kim Jong Eun’s love of basketball could be a good starting point for talks, and claiming that the onus is on Obama because “the kid is only 28,” as though there were nobody older than this working alongside him.
It’s not the first time such things have taken place, of course. The New York Philharmonic Orchestra held a historic performance on February 26th 2008 in Pyongyang, playing the North Korean national anthem while the American and North Korean flags flew. The Korean audience even applauded with respect after the American national anthem. However, even this impressive performance did not improve bilateral relations: North Korea conducted a second nuclear test the following year. In other words, North Korea invites cultural exchanges before or after provocative actions: something to give off a message about ‘improving relations’, something to create discord and divide international opinion.
In many senses, Kim and Rodman’s meeting in Pyongyang was rather sad. Rodman is the most famous American Kim has met since he took power more than a year ago. He did not even meet with the executive chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, much less the likes of Bill Richardson. His preference, evidently, is for former NBA stars he idolized in his teens.
Criticism of North Korea is growing and growing in the international community, even in nearby China. If Kim Jong Eun were a mature leader he would know that, and would not have done what he did. Only the North Korean people are suffering for this young man’s hoop dreams.
