Dennis Rodman and Donald Gregg

Two Americans recently found common ground even though they had completely different backgrounds. Donald Gregg and Dennis Rodman found a common point: North Korea.

Donald Gregg is a former Central Intelligence Agency official, who served as Washington’s ambassador to Seoul. Dennis Rodman was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

They are North Korea’s favorite Americans. Gregg met Kim Jong Il, and Rodman met Kim Jong Un. Both Gregg and Rodman volunteer to improve relations between North Korea and the United States, which came to a deadlock because of nuclear weapons issues.

In fact, these two people are more like representatives for Kim’s administration than peacemakers.

Rodman calls Kim Jong Un his “best friend.”

Rodman was recorded as an NBA rebounding champion seven times. On the other hand, Rodman caused a lot of trouble, such as fighting, suicide attempts and more. He was prosecuted for not paying $800,000 in child support. Rodman also receives medical treatment for alcohol abuse.

Rodman now says his mission is “to break the ice between hostile countries,” after having met Kim Jong Un a few times. He said his basketball diplomacy was the same as the Ping-Pong diplomacy of 1972 that improved relations between China and the United States.

“Keeping us safe is really not my job; it’s the black guy’s [President Barack Obama’s] job,” Rodman said, “but I will tell you this: If I don’t finish in the top three for the next Nobel Peace Prize, something’s seriously wrong.”

One journalist was skeptical about Rodman’s wish. Here are his comments: “I doubt all winners of the Nobel Peace Prize were worth the prize, but they at least achieved something understandable. However, all Rodman did was let the world know that North Korea accepted one American basketball player.”*

In January, Rodman played games with some former NBA players in Pyongyang, North Korea. It was a birthday gift for Kim Jong Un. Before Kim’s birthday, most Americans regarded Rodman’s visit as an interesting event. However, Rodman’s visit was criticized because he visited only a few weeks after Kim executed his uncle, Jang Sung Taek.

Rodman also defended Kim Jong Un. “Do you understand what he [Kenneth Bae] did? In this country,” said Rodman. He said it was Bae’s own fault that he was detained. This outraged Bae’s family and many other Americans. In the end, Rodman made an excuse that he was drunk during the interview and apologized for his words.

Gregg praised what Rodman did in North Korea and called Rodman a weird but smart athlete. It is hard to understand why Gregg, who had lots of experience in diplomacy, thinks Rodman could contribute to solving diplomatic issues between two countries.

Gregg visited Pyongyang again on Feb. 10. According to Gregg, the reason why North Korea put Kenneth Bae in a special prison again was that the U.S. Air Force had sent B-52 planes. Like North Korea has done, Gregg justified North Korea’s faults by criticizing the United States.

From Gregg’s perspective, the U.S. threatened and ignored North Korea, which was favorable to the United States. In other words, Gregg thought the U.S. caused the nuclear weapons conflict and unstable relations between the two countries.

After talking with Kim Jong Un, Gregg said Kim was very smart and tried hard to change North Korea. Right after North Korea’s nuclear test, Gregg stood by Kim, saying Kim developed the nuclear weapons in order to survive.

Gregg loves Kim Jong Un as much as Rodman does. Gregg thought Kim would westernize North Korea since Kim had more knowledge of the world than his father and grandfather. In addition, Gregg also said critics in Seoul and Washington made Kim evil.

Gregg could not forgive Kim, considering his beliefs and accomplishments in South Korea.

When Gregg worked for the CIA in Seoul, Gregg persuaded the director of Korea’s Presidential Security Service, Park Jong-kyu, to fire Lee Hu-rak, the director of the Korea Central Intelligence Agency. This was because Gregg was sure Choi Jong-gil, a professor at Seoul National University Law School, was killed and tortured by the KCIA.

At that time, the director of the CIA recommended that Gregg not mention the brutal behaviors of the KCIA. However, Gregg spoke up against this inhumane treatment by the KCIA. It resulted in bringing a lot of changes to the KCIA. Gregg was proud of supporting humanity as much as he hated torture.

Another point of pride for Gregg was that he prevented nuclear weapons in South Korea. Former President Park Jung-hee had a plan to develop nuclear weapons in South Korea. Gregg reported Park’s plan to the United States, so the plan was canceled.

Gregg used to say he did not like Park because Park was a dictator who tried to have nuclear weapons. Gregg once said, “Every strong leader needs a minister of bad news.”

Based on this history, what did Gregg do against the torture at political prisons in North Korea? Kim Jong Un killed Jang Sung Taek and Jang’s fellows. It was worse than torture, but Gregg did not mention this. Also, Gregg never suggested that Kim Jong Il give up nuclear weapons.

Gregg committed to humanity in South Korea and checked nuclear weapons issues in South Korea. In contrast, he represents the North Korean government these days without any complaints. In order to support North Korea, now Gregg associates with an abnormal basketball player. What a pity!

* Editor’s note: This quote, accurately translated, could not be verified.