Dennis Rodman offers clue ‘something is wrong’ with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un
Former NBA star and friend of Kim Jong Un, Dennis Rodman, has revealed how the world can know what the truth behind the North Korean leader’s suspected illness really is.
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Dennis Rodman has revealed when the world will know “something is wrong” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
The former NBA star who formed a close relationship with Kim during a visit to the reclusive communist country in 2013, said he had been in touch with North Korea since rumours spread of the leader’s ill health last month.
“I do have communications with North Korea, but I can say this, though: If you see his sister on TV, running the country, now you know something is wrong, that’s all I’m going give you,” Rodman, 58, told “Good Morning Britain” host Piers Morgan, according to the New York Post.
After Kim had not been seen in public for several weeks, unconfirmed reports emerged that he was either gravely ill or had died following botched surgery.
Rodman has praised Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong, who is said to be next in line to the leadership of the rogue nation.
“His sister was a sweetheart,” Rodman told The Post.
“She was very kind to me when [I was a] guest.”
However Rodman has said previously Kim’s health issues “probably weren’t much”.
“I’ve been to dinner with dignitaries there that were reported to be dead here,” he said.
“I don’t believe North Korean news until I hear it from their side. I think the fact that they keep to themselves, in many ways, gives the media the ability to run with rumours at times.”
North Korean state media released photos earlier this month of Kim’s appearance at a ceremony for the completion of a fertiliser plant in Suncheon, South Pyongan Province, to debunk the rumours of his death.
KIM MISSING AS NORTH KOREA ‘LOCKS DOWN’
Despite Rodman’s assertions, Kim Jong-un is missing again after news emerged that he has locked down a major city in the Hermit Kingdom – which could be in response to a COVID-19 outbreak.
And spies in the US say they have not been able to confirm the last photos of Kim released by North Korea were authentic.
The North Korean dictator vanished last month for 20 days sparking speculation that he has died or was gravely ill after a botched heart operation, or in hiding from the coronavirus.
However, on May 1, the secretive state released footage of the 36-year-old visiting a newly-opened fertiliser plant in his country appearing to quash the health rumours. He has not been seen again.
However, a number of North Korean observers said the pictures could well have been of one of his numerous lookalike body doubles. And spies in the US say they can’t verify if the photos were real.
Kim, who seized power of the rogue country in 2011, has not been seen since those pictures emerged.
Yet while US intelligence cannot verify whether the images are real, White House security adviser Robert O’Brien admitted that American spies “can’t say one way or the other” whether the recent “open source” pictures of the despot were real.
He added: “We call it the hermit kingdom. It’s very difficult to get information out of North Korea.”
Meanwhile, residents living near locked-down Rason have reportedly said they suspect the city has either been hit by COVID-19 — or Kim is about to visit and make his second public appearance after going AWOL for 20 days.
A resident of the province, speaking under the cover of anonymity, told US-funded broadcaster Radio Free Asia: “Since early this month, the authorities have blocked the public from entering the city, making it difficult for many of us.
“Not only train passengers, but also residents travelling by land were screened and blocked from entering.
“Many of the residents suspect the closure of the city might be coronavirus related, but the government has not divulged any reason for banning entry.
“Even when the coronavirus was at its worst in China, access to Rason was not fully controlled.
“We don’t know the reason why they are suddenly blocking entry.”
North Korea claims to be free of the virus, but it has shut its border with China and toughened quarantine rules.
It was previously reported Kim fled Pyongyang to stay at his luxurious beach retreat in Wonson.
RODMAN: I KNOW WHERE KIM IS
Celebrity NBA bad boy Dennis Rodman reckons his mate Kim Jong-un is alive and well and probably watching the Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance on a TV in the Hermit Kingdom.
The man known as “The Worm” told the New York Post that Kim is a “HUGE Bulls fan”.
The former Chicago Bull, now 58, regarded as one of the toughest NBA defensive players ever and a five-time NBA champion, said he didn’t believe stories that Kim had died after heart surgery and been replaced by a lookalike body double.
“It probably wasn’t much,” Rodman said of Kim’s reported health issues.
“I’ve been to dinner with dignitaries there that were reported to be dead here. I don’t believe North Korean news until I hear it from their side.
“I think the fact that they keep to themselves, in many ways, gives the media the ability to run with rumours at times.”
The wacky Rodman, known for his extreme hairdos, piercings and tatts as well as his exceptional ability on the court, has visited North Korea regularly and struck up an unlikely friendship with Kim.
Last year, he got in touch with President Trump and generously offered to do what he could to fix up diplomatic ties between the dictatorship and the US.
In April, the reality TV regular said he was praying for Kim’s health.
“I hope it’s just a rumour that Marshal Kim Jong Un is sick,” Rodman told TMZ sports.
“Hopefully I will find out more soon.”
Kim was not seen in public for 20 days, sparking speculation that he was dead. North Korea’s state media released pictures of Kim a few days ago doing a ribbon-cutting at a fertiliser plant. But in recent days, Kim watchers have debated whether the person photographed was really Kim – or a body double.
“Ha ha ha. That’s a stretch,” Rodman said of the speculation.
The Worm said he hasn’t spoken to Kim recently.
“All I can say, is I hope Kim is safe and sound because there is a lot more work and peace to be done between both nations.”
But if Kim has indeed gone to a better place, Rodman reckons his sister Kim Yo Jong would be a splendid replacement.
“His sister was a sweetheart,” said Rodman. “She was very kind to me when [I was a] guest.”
Kim, who took power following the death of his father in 2011, is a diehard basketball fan with a special affection for the Chicago Bulls, and apparently he had a soft spot for Rodman, who was part of the Bulls during Michael Jordan’s legendary reign.
Kim invited Rodman to Pyongyang, the capital of the isolated authoritarian state, for the pair’s first meeting in March 2013.
The ever-reclusive Kim was a no-show at a ceremony to receive a commemorative World War II medal from Russia marking the 75th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.
Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded the medal to Kim for his role in preserving the memory of Soviet soldiers who died on the Hermit Kingdom’s territory.
KIM JONG-UN TO CHINA ON COVID PANDEMIC: ‘GOOD JOB!’
Kim sent a direct message to Xi Jinping hailing Beijing’s efforts combating the outbreak, reported the Korean Central News Agency.
In the message, Kim “congratulated him, highly appreciating that he is seizing a chance of victory in the war against the unprecedented epidemic,” according to the state-run news outlet.
“Kim Jong Un wished Xi Jinping good health, expressing conviction that the Chinese party and people would cement the successes made so far and steadily expand them and thus win a final victory under the wise guidance of Xi Jinping.”
Pyongyang did not detail when or how the “verbal” message had been delivered, reports Yonhap News.
It is at least the second time Kim – who recently reappeared after not being seen for 20 days and who is the subject of rumours lookalike body doubles have taken his place – has sent a message to Xi concerning the pandemic.
In January, he offered North Korea’s support and an “aid fund” to Beijing to help its fight against the virus – even though Pyongyang struggles to feed its own people.
North Korea claims to be free of the virus but it has shut its border with China and toughened quarantine rules.
It was previously reported Kim fled Pyongyang to stay at his luxurious beach retreat in Wonsan because of the outbreak.
Other rumours stated some of Kim’s inner circle had contracted the killer virus, prompting his flight from the capital into seclusion.
North Korea however insists it still has zero cases of the coronavirus, which if true would make it one of the few nations in world untouched by the pandemic.
China has been accused of trying to cover up the global outbreak since it first emerged in the city of Wuhan.
A spy dossier claimed Beijing destroyed evidence of coronavirus in its state-run labs and silenced whistleblowers who tried to tell the world what was happening.
The dossier – which has been circulated by governments in the West – even alleges the secretive nation refused to provide live samples to international scientists working day and night to find a vaccine.
It claims Beijing deliberately obstructed efforts by other countries trying to tackle the deadly virus.
The 15-page document – from the Five Eyes security alliance of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – lays the foundation for the case of negligence being mounted against China.
WILL THE REAL KIM JONG-UN PLEASE STAND UP
Footage has emerged apparently showing North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un chatting with a pair of body doubles at a missile launch – a day after speculation surfaced that a lookalike stood in for him recently to dispel rumours of his death.
The footage is from 2017. Stills taken from it seem to Kim’s lookalikes on site with the dictator to oversee the launch of the Hwasong-14 missile.
The men were dressed in Kim’s trademark black pinstripe suit and Cuban heels, sporting the Supreme Leader’s same bizarre shaved back and sides hairdo.
It is understood that Kim likes to travel with body doubles in the belief that it may help stymie any attempt to assassinate him.
The pictures have rekindled speculation that pictures of him taken at the weekend emerging from a 20-day absence at a fertiliser factory ribbon-cutting may in fact have been of a lookalike – to hide the fact he is dead, or very ill.
Close watchers of the so-called Hermit Kingdom say they have noted subtle differences with his teeth, nose, wrinkles, hairline and ears that could indicate the Kim who has been recently pictured is not the real Kim.
Originally published as Dennis Rodman offers clue ‘something is wrong’ with North Korea leader Kim Jong Un