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Dennis Rodman has met with Kim Jong Un, and reportedly had a good time, so why shouldn’t he ask for a small favor?
On Tuesday, after the ex-NBA player saw a Seattle Times article calling for the release of detained Korean American tour operator Kenneth Bae, who is being held in North Korea, he did something about it. Casually.
“I’m calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him ‘Kim,’ to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose,” wrote Rodman on Twitter.
STORY: Dennis Rodman: Returning to North Korea?
The article was titled “Dennis Rodman should ask pal Kim Jong Un to release Kenneth Bae.” Rodman directed another Twitter post to the author of the Times article, Thanh Tan, saying: “OK.”
Bae was arrested in November of last year in North Korea, and the country hasn’t stated what crime he has committed, the Associated Press noted.
“Kenneth Bae had no access to a lawyer. It is not even known what he was charged with,” said Rajiv Narayan, Amnesty International’s North Korea researcher, in a statement May 2. “Kenneth Bae should be released, unless he is charged with an internationally recognizable criminal offence and retried by a competent, independent and impartial court.”
As part of HBO’s Vice series, Rodman famously toured the reclusive country, met with North Korean leaders in February and attended a basketball game.
He played emissary between U.S. and North Korea at the time also, telling George Stephanopoulos in a post-trip interview that Kim Jong Un “wants Obama to do one thing. Call him.”
Rodman also recently teased that he would be returning to North Korea in August.
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