Family of American journalist being held in North Korea ‘appaulled’ by Dennis Rodman’s remarks
By now you’ve heard about the very strange relationship that former NBA star Dennis Rodman has with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He’s traveled to the country three times, and describes the dictator as a beloved friend. While overseas with other former NBA players for a basketball game against a local team for Un’s birthday, Rodman made some pretty inflammatory comments during an interview about Kenneth Bae.
Bae, who is a U.S. citizen, was sentenced to 15 years in a labor camp by North Korea last year. The country’s leader accused the journalist of intending to take over the government through religious activities.
In an exclusive interview from Pyongyang on Tuesday, he reacted angrily to a question from Chris Cuomo of CNN’s “New Day” about whether he was planning to ask North Korean leaders about Kenneth Bae…Rodman suggested that Bae, a Korean-American whose health has deteriorated during his imprisonment, had done something wrong, but did not specify what.
“Do you understand what he did in this country?” Rodman asked Cuomo. “No, no, no, you tell me, you tell me. Why is he held captive here in this country, why?” “I would love to speak on this,” Rodman said, before abruptly switching the topic to talk about how his fellow basketball players had left their families behind to come to North Korea for the exhibition game.
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Terri Chung, Bae’s sister appeared on “Anderson Cooper 360” soon after the interview. She stated that Rodman’s comments were not only outrageous, but shocking. Bae has suffered a series of health problems during his detention and has since been transfered from the labor camp to a hospital. His mother told CNN “that her son was a devout Christian who had not understood the system in North Korea.”
North Korea is officially an Atheist state. Bae was accused of urging people to commit “hostile acts” against the state.
Now we know that Rodman can be a bit “eccentric,” but has the star gone too far?
Was Chris Cuomo wrong for asking Rodman to talk to Kim Jong Un about Kenneth Bae?
Sound off below!