- Former NBA star Dennis Rodman could be in Singapore when President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meet up later this month.
- Rodman has developed a rapport with Kim over the last several years. The athlete has made two trips to the reclusive nation and is one of the few American citizens to have met with the leader.
- Rodman will reportedly arrive in Singapore on June 11. Sources suggested to the New York Post that Rodman could even have some role in the upcoming negotiations, but it's unclear what that role might be.
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman will reportedly be in Singapore when President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a landmark summit on June 12, according to sources cited in a New York Post report Tuesday.
"No matter you might think about his presence. One thing's for sure the ratings will be huge," a source said in the report. "A lot of times in situations that involve complex diplomacy, countries like to identify ambassadors of goodwill and whether you agree with it or not Dennis Rodman fits the bill."
Rodman has developed a rapport with Kim over the last several years, so much so that he made two trips to the reclusive nation and is one of the few American citizens to have met with its leader. Kim is widely believed to be a fan of the 1990s Chicago Bulls. Rodman was on the team from 1995 to 1998, playing alongside the legendary Michael Jordan.
Rodman has a connection to Trump, who hosted NBC's reality TV show, "The Apprentice." In 2013, Rodman was fired by Trump on the show, after misspelling Melania Trump's name on a promotional poster as "Milania."
Rodman will reportedly arrive in Singapore on June 11 and could have some role in the upcoming negotiations, sources told the Post, but it's unclear what that role could be.
Rodman, who fancies himself a sports ambassador to North Korea, said that he did not "want to take all the credit" for laying the groundwork for the summit.
"I don't want to sit here and say, 'I did this. I did that.' No, that's not my intention," Rodman told the celebrity gossip outlet TMZ in April. "And I've always asked [Kim] to talk to me because he wants the people of North Korea — and the government over there asked me to talk to Donald Trump about what they want and how we can solve things."
The meeting between Trump and Kim will be held at the Capella Hotel in Singapore. It will be the first such dialogue between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.
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