Why Is Dennis Rodman In North Korea Again?

If you were like me and woke this morning to the sight of Dennis Rodman wearing a cannabis t-shirt while making another trip to North Korea, don't worry, you were not alone in thinking "What in the hell?"

Rodman routinely distances himself from political events in North Korea.

His entourage included Joseph Terwilliger, a professor who has accompanied Rodman on previous trips to North Korea.

Rodman said the issue of several Americans currently detained by North Korea is "not my objective right now".

Mr Trump has been somewhat ambivalent on North Korea, describing the North's leader Kim Jong Un as a "madman with nuclear weapons", but also on one occasion as "a pretty smart cookie".

This trip marks at least Rodman's fourth visit to the communist state, three of which took place between 2013 and 2014, according to CNN. "Thank God", his parents told CNN.

He told reporters at Beijing airport on Tuesday that he believes President Donald Trump is happy with his visit "to accomplish something we both need".

But nearly parallel to the moment Rodman landed in Pyongyang, Warmbier was released to US custody Tuesday.

Mr Tillerson said he would not comment on Mr Warmbier's condition, but added that USA officials are continuing "to have discussions" with North Korea about the release of three other jailed American citizens.

A senior Trump administration official told TV broadcaster Fox News Rodman was going to the North "as a private citizen".

Kim, who was educated in Switzerland, is reported to be a keen basketball fan and especially of the Chicago Bulls. It has been widely reported that Rodman and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un are good friends.

Rodman later apologized for the interview, saying he was "stressed out" and "had been drinking" at the time of the interview. "Maybe Dennis is a lot better than what we have", he said of the basketball hall of famer, who also appeared as a contestant that year on Trump's NBC show "Celebrity Apprentice".

Rodman maintained then that he wasn't a diplomat, and it wasn't his job to talk about Bae.

Earlier Tuesday, Tillerson had provided only few details about Warmbier or the circumstances around his release.

The former basketball star has travelled to North Korea for a secret project. Pyongyang has reportedly imprisoned more than 100,000 of its own people in draconian, Soviet-style prison camps and spends millions on its military programs instead of its impoverished population.

Why? Because hours after the ex-athlete landed in Pyongyang, detained USA student Otto Warmbier was released from North Korean jail! But the claim that marijuana is legal in North Korea is not true.

But relations between Pyongyang and Washington were considerably less tense in 2013 than they have been in recent months.

Tensions have heightened on the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests and its vow to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the U.S. mainland, presenting U.S. President Donald Trump with perhaps his most pressing security worry.

As NPR's Elise Hu reports from Seoul, the U.S. State Department has issued several warnings advising Americans not to travel to North Korea. North Korea is expecting another vi. "If not, we will solve the problem without them!"

Jeffrey Fowle, another USA tourist from OH detained for six months at about the same time as Miller, was released just before that and sent home on a US government plane.

"I would smoke a big ass blunt with Kim Jong Un", wrote a commenter on the Youtube video.

"We are aware of his visit". But he grabbed just as much attention off the court for his piercings, brightly-dyed hair and headline-grabbing antics.

After the game, the VICE crew and the players were rushed across Pyongyang unexpectedly for a dinner with Kim and other members of North Korea's government.

"I come in peace". The US does not have a diplomatic mission in North Korea.