Ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman will be in Singapore for Trump-Kim summit
The retired professional basketball player, who has visited North Korea multiple times in the past, is expected to arrive in the country a day before the June 12 summit.
This combination of file photos shows former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman in Pyongyang, North Korea on Dec. 20, 2013, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on April 15, 2017.
Former NBA star Dennis Rodman will be in Singapore during US President Donald Trump’s summit with North Korean President Kim Jong-un next week, according to the New York Post.
The retired professional basketball player is expected to arrive in the country a day before the June 12 summit.
The New York Post does not state how they obtained this information.
He may play some role in the negotiations, it said quoting anonymous sources.
"A lot of times in situations that involve complex diplomacy, countries like to identify ambassadors of goodwill," a source said.
The former basketball player has visited North Korea five times in the past. Rodman's trip comes one year after his last.
Former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman, left, towers over North Korean children during his visit to Mangyongdae, the birth place of late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea.
During his 2017 trip last June, Rodman presented a book titled "Trump: The Art of the Deal" to North Korea's sports minister.
The ex-NBA star believes he should be credited for bringing the two leaders together as he was "just trying to open a door" for the two leaders by going to North Korea.
In this June 15, 2017, file photo, former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman presents a book titled "Trump The Art of the Deal" to North Korea's Sports Minister Kim Il-guk on Thursday, June 15, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea.
Trump and Kim will meet at a luxury resort on Sentosa Island in Singapore, according to the White House. Capella Hotel will host the historic meeting.
US President Donald Trump views the highly anticipated summit as a legacy-defining opportunity to make a nuclear deal with the North Koreans.
UPDATE: The venue for the Singapore summit between @POTUS and Leader Kim Jong Un will be the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island. We thank our great Singaporean hosts for their hospitality.
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) June 5, 2018
Making news for the wrong reasons
The former NBA star also made news earlier this year after being arrested for a DUI conviction in Southern California.
Rodman's agent, Darren Prince, told The Associated Press that Rodman checked into Turning Point Rehabilitation Center in Paterson, New Jersey following his arrest to deal with his longtime struggle with alcoholism.
He also spent three weeks at Turning point in 2014 after returning from North Korea, where he organised an exhibition basketball game involving retired NBA players for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
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