Former NBA star Dennis Rodman's unlikely friendship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has returned to the spotlight after a journalist revived an extraordinary allegation about how their relationship supposedly ended.
Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin claimed Kim cut ties with Rodman following an incident during one of the basketball star's visits to North Korea.
'Kim Jong Un broke off his friendship with Rodman after the last visit where Rodman allegedly got super drunk and allegedly defecated on the hotel room floor. He can't help Trump with North Korean diplomacy anymore,' Rogin wrote on Tuesday.
The allegation dates back to reports published in 2014 following Rodman's controversial January trip to Pyongyang. The Korea Times, citing a source associated with Free North Korea Radio, reported that Rodman became heavily intoxicated at the Koryo Hotel and allegedly vomited, urinated and defecated in a hallway.
The claims were based on an unnamed source and were not independently verified. There has also been no public statement from Kim confirming that the alleged episode ended his relationship with Rodman.
Rodman entered an alcohol rehabilitation facility after returning to the United States. His agent said at the time that the former Chicago Bulls star had been under intense pressure surrounding the North Korea trip.
Rodman and Kim's Unlikely Friendship
Rodman first met Kim during a February 2013 trip to Pyongyang with members of the Harlem Globetrotters for a basketball exhibition organised as part of a Vice Media production.
Kim, a reported basketball fan who had followed the Bulls during Rodman's playing career, sat alongside the five-time NBA champion during an exhibition game.
Rodman subsequently described Kim as a friend and told the North Korean leader: 'You have a friend for life.'
He returned to the country several times and described his efforts as 'basketball diplomacy', although he held no official position with the US government.
His January 2014 trip proved particularly controversial. Rodman brought a group of former NBA players to Pyongyang for an exhibition marking Kim's birthday and even sang 'Happy Birthday' to the North Korean leader.
Rodman later apologised for comments he made about Kenneth Bae, an American then imprisoned in North Korea, acknowledging that he had been drinking when he gave the interview.
Trump Speculation Brings Relationship Back Into Focus
Rogin's comments came as reports suggested President Donald Trump could explore another meeting with Kim and that Rodman might potentially become involved because of his unusual history with the North Korean leader.
Trump and Kim met three times during Trump's first presidency. Their encounters included summits in Singapore in 2018 and Hanoi in 2019, followed by a meeting at the Korean Demilitarised Zone later that year.
Those talks ultimately failed to produce a comprehensive agreement on North Korea's nuclear programme.
Rodman was never formally involved in those negotiations, despite previously expressing confidence that his relationship with Kim could help improve communication between Washington and Pyongyang.
His access nevertheless remained unusual. Few prominent Americans have spent significant personal time with Kim, making Rodman's repeated visits one of the stranger episodes of unofficial diplomacy between the two countries.
Whether their friendship actually ended because of the alleged hotel incident, however, remains unconfirmed.
