North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s self-proclaimed “friend for life” Dennis Rodman announced January 4 that he had assembled the promised team of former NBA players to take to Pyongyang. These reportedly include former NBA All-Stars Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson, and Vin Baker. Craig Hodges, Doug Christie and Charles D. Smith will round out the American team. They are headed to North Korea to play in an exhibition game against a top North Korean senior national team on January 8, providing a crowd-pleasing circus for Kim Jong-un’s 31st birthday. (Kim is reportedly an ardent basketball fan from his days of studying in Switzerland.)
The bread being brought by Rodman to accompany the circus is allegedly in the form of luxury birthday gifts for the North Korean dictator and his wife. Rodman seems oblivous to North Korea’s near starvation of its people, human rights atrocities, gulags, and nuclear and missile adventurism, and appears equally unconcerned that providing Pyongyang with any luxury goods is a violation of the sanctions imposed by United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution 2094, adopted on March 7, 2013, and previous resolutions. UNSC resolution 2094 specifies that “prohibited luxury goods are banned for transfer to North Korea, including certain kinds of jewelry and precious stones, yachts, luxury automobiles and racing cars.” (Rodman mentioned to the press after his September visit to North Korea of being entertained on just such a yacht on Kim Jong-un’s pleasure island.)
