HONG KONG -- Former NBA star Dennis Rodman has been one of the United States' most unlikely links to North Korea, traveling repeatedly to the authoritarian state and gaining rare access to its leadership.
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Now he is back, though no details have emerged of what he plans to do there. Rodman's visit coincided with the surprise release of Otto Warmbier, a U.S. college student who had been held prisoner in North Korea for more than a year. Warmbier, 22, was sentenced to a 15-year prison term for trying to steal a propaganda poster in January 2016.
Some analysts speculated that Rodman may even be carrying a message from President Donald Trump, who previously had praised Rodman's efforts to engage North Korea.
Rodman was seen at Beijing International Airport and flew to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, on Tuesday, CNN reported.
Rodman wrote Tuesday afternoon on Twitter that he had arrived in the country, saying "I'm back" and thanking "my sponsor PotCoin.com." PotCoin offers banking services to the legal marijuana industry. One of Rodman's earlier visits to North Korea was sponsored by an Irish gambling company.
Rodman declined to say whether he had spoken about the trip with Trump, who four years ago endorsed Rodman's visiting North Korea.
"Well, I'm pretty sure he's pretty much happy with the fact that I'm over here trying to accomplish something that we both need," Rodman said.
Trump spoke on Fox News in 2013 about Rodman and North Korea, a year in which Rodman also appeared on Trump's Celebrity Apprentice show. "Maybe Dennis is a lot better than what we have," he said.
Suzanne DiMaggio, a director and senior fellow at the New America think tank who had been involved in unofficial talks with North Korea, said on Twitter that there was a "high probability" of communication between the Trump administration and Rodman.
While traveling in Tokyo, Thomas Shannon Jr., the U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs, said Rodman was not acting in any official capacity.
"We are aware of his visit," Shannon said. "We wish him well, but we have issued travel warnings to Americans and suggested they not travel to North Korea for their own safety."
The visit is the latest leg in a strange tale. In February 2013, Rodman, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, became one of the first Americans then known to have met Kim Jong Un, who had taken over the leadership of North Korea after his father's death in 2011. Kim, a longtime basketball fan, invited Rodman, and the two sat together while watching an exhibition game that featured three Harlem Globetrotters.
Rodman returned in September 2013, when he held Kim's newborn daughter. A few months later, he made another visit with a group of former NBA players.
Officials in then-President Barack Obama's administration said they would have blocked Rodman from visiting if they had any power to do so. The NBA distanced itself from the issue, and Rodman was criticized by politicians and human-rights advocates for giving friendly publicity to one of the world's most repressive states.
But he also offered up little-known details about Kim, confirming his age and his birthday, for instance. He also suggested that Obama simply pick up the phone and call the North Korean leader. The United States and North Korea do not have formal diplomatic relations.
On Tuesday, South Korean military officials told reporters that a North Korean drone found last week had taken photographs of a recently installed, U.S.-made anti-missile system.
A Section on 06/14/2017