지난 9월 북한 방문 당시 데니스 로드먼이 김정은 국방위 제1위원장과 대화를 나누고있다. (연합뉴스)
미국프로농구(NBA) 스타 출신인 데니스 로드먼(52)이 다음 달 북한에서 농구 경기를 열겠다는 계획을 밝혔다.
로드먼은 23일(한국시간) AP통신과의 인터뷰에서 크리스마스 즈음 방북 계획을 하고 있다며 "현재까지 7명의 전•현직 NBA 선수들이 나와 함께 북한에 가기로 했다 "고 말했다.
로드먼은 올해 2월과 9월에도 북한을 방문했다. 9월 방북 때에는 김정은 국방위 원회 제1위원장과 농구 경기를 관람하는 등 남다른 친분을 과시했다.
로드먼은 지난주 몇몇 친구들과 방북 계획을 얘기했다면서도 선수들의 실명은 거론할 수 없다고 잘라 말했다.
그는 "친구들이 색다른 문화를 경험할 기회가 될 것"이라며 "생각하는 것만큼 북한이 나쁘지 않다는 걸 보여주고 싶다"고 NBA 선수들을 데려가는 이유를 설명했다.
로드먼은 북한의 핵무기 개발이나 인권 등 정치적인 문제에 대해서는 이번에도 말을 아꼈다.
정치 이슈에 대해서는 나서려 하지 않은 탓에 그는 정치적인 문제에 지나치게 무관심하다는 비판을 받았다.
로드먼의 기행이 북한과 미국의 민감한 외교 관계를 더욱 악화시킬 수 있다는 지적도 적지 않다.
그러나 로드먼은 그가 북한을 방문하는 것은 개인적인 이유일 뿐 아니라 김정은 위원장의 정치적인 의도에 자신이 관심이 없기 때문이라고 반박했다.
로드먼은 "내가 정치가가 되려는 것도 아니고 김 위원장에 대한 기삿거리를 만들려는 것도 아니다"라며 "무엇보다 김 위원장과 나는 친구"라고 목소리를 높였다.
로드먼은 NBA 디트로이트 피스톤스와 시카고 불스 등에서 뛰다 1999-2000시즌을 끝으로 은퇴했다.
음주운전, 성추행 등 끊임없이 사건을 일으켜 '코트의 악동'으로 불렸다.
<관련 영문 기사>
Rodman ready to bring his game back to North Korea
Dennis Rodman is preparing to thrill North Korean fans during an exhibition basketball tour there late next month.
Though he ducked questions in an interview with The Associated Press about whether his Christmas-time visit would be used for propaganda purposes by Kim Jong-un, the 29-year-old leader of one of the world's most repressive regimes, Rodman said he'll be accompanied on the trip by a dozen or so former NBA players. But he refused to name names.
“I have seven people right now,” Rodman said. “I talked to a couple of guys last week. Lot of guys are saying, `OK, great. I'll go. We'll go.' But I'm not saying this to get people to go over there to prove a point _ `OK, great, let's go over there and make a difference.'
“No-o-o-o-o-o,” he continued. “Let's go over there because this is a great opportunity for everyone to see a different culture. ... `This country is so bad. This city is so bad.' OK, great, come see it and tell the world when you come back, `Hey, it's not as bad as you think.' And that's why I'm taking NBA players over there, to show them, so they can come back and talk about it.”
Back in the news as a self-appointed ambassador and friend of Kim, Rodman returned Thursday to where he won the last three of his five NBA championships playing alongside Michael Jordan. On a promotional tour to pitch a vodka brand, Rodman, 52, held court downtown amid camera flashes.
Rodman said he wouldn't talk about his relationship with Kim or North Korean politics, including its widely condemned human-rights record and secretive nuclear weapons program. Though he eventually touched on those subjects, Rodman glossed over several related questions and largely ignored a challenge to his answer about whether North Korea was holding U.S. citizens as hostages, including 85-year-old Korean War veteran Merrill Newman.
The Swedish Embassy is negotiating on behalf of Newman because the U.S. has no diplomatic ties to North Korea. Rodman's friendship with Kim has afforded him the kind of access denied statesmen from the West and even U.S. President Barack Obama. Rodman came under criticism for being “naive” during a previous visit to North Korea, where he was photographed often with Kim, and some members of the diplomatic community fear his antics could further aggravate already-sensitive negotiations.
Rodman said his reasons for returning were much more personal and beyond that, Kim's motives were not his concern.
“Like I told you, this is not all about trying to create this major buzz,” Rodman said. “Because I don't want my friend to sit there and say I been doing this all along to slip in some information on him. I don't want that. That's why I'm not doing that. We're friends and that's it.
“This ain't about me trying to be a politician and try to get some scoop on him and stuff like that. ... He's my friend first. Other than that, I don't give a damn what ... he does.”
Rodman began his NBA career with the Detroit Pistons in 1986. It ended in 2000, after failed attempts to catch on with both the Lakers and Mavericks. Whether or not he misses the game, it's clear he enjoys being back in the limelight, detractors and all.
"People say, `what do you do for a living?' I don't know. I just float around the world. Basically, I don't do anything. I do a lot of major things around the world. I do things that is very significant right now, and people are actually paying attention to Dennis Rodman now.
“Back when I was doing my finagling in sports, they thought I was a joke. They thought I was a cartoon character or something like that. All of a sudden now, people are taking me seriously. You know, an ambassador all around the world,” he added.
“It's like ... I think things have come full circle.” (AP)
