Dennis Rodman: ‘Obama can’t do (beep)’ to free Lynnwood man
May 10, 2013, 9:25 AM | Updated: 11:40 am
Former NBA All-Star Dennis Rodman and Kim Jong-un embrace during a Feb. trip to North Korea. (Screen grab Associated Press TV)
(Screen grab Associated Press TV)
‘Ambassador’ and former NBA All-Star Dennis Rodman tells TMZ he plans to return to North Korea to get Kim Jogn-un to release Kenneth Bae of Lynnwood.
He says he’s returning on Aug. 1 to reopen the dialogue because President Obama “can’t do (expletive).”
“We got a black president [who] can’t even go talk to [Jong-un] … Obama can’t do (expletive), I don’t know why he won’t go talk to him.”
Rodman met with Kim and watched an exhibition game together when he visited Pyongyang in February.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Rodman called on Kim “to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose.”
Bae is a tour operator of Korean descent who was held after arriving with a tour on Nov. 3 to the city of Rajin, which is part of a special economic zone near China.
North Korea said last week Bae confessed to an unspecified crime. The Supreme Court sentenced him last week to 15 years of hard labor for unspecified “hostile acts.” The State Department is pressing for his release through the Swedish Embassy.
Bae is at least the sixth American detained there since 2009. The others eventually were deported or released, some after trips to Pyongyang by prominent Americans.
Pyongyang rejects speculation it seeks a U.S. envoy to negotiate Bae’s release.
Despite his efforts, Rodman says he’s not a diplomat.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
