Rodman plans vacation with North Korean leader Kim

Fresh off his visit to North Korea, former basketball star Dennis Rodman told a North Dakota television station that he plans to go on vacation with dictator and sports fan Kim Jong Un in August.

“The kid is awesome,” Rodman said. “But I think his grandfather [Kim Il-sung] and his father [Kim Jong-il] built this whole thing up and he has to do this.”

Rodman has said that Kim asked him to deliver a message that Obama call him. He said he “doesn't want to do war,” despite this week's decision to withdraw from the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War following threats to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States.

“I don't condone what he does,” Rodman told KVLY-KXJB. “But, he's my friend.”

Rodman's trip caused headaches for the Obama administration at a time of growing tensions with the nuclear-armed country. The White House dismissed it as a private citizen's initiative with no impact on U.S. foreign policy.

“Instead of spending money on celebrity sporting events to entertain the elites of that country, the North Korean regime should focus on the well-being of its own people who have been starved, imprisoned, and denied their human rights,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Rodman made the comments during a promotional tour at a bar in Fargo, N.D.

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