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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s top leader Kim Jong Un and former NBA star Dennis Rodman sat together and watched a basketball game between U.S. and DPRK players Thursday, witnesses said. The competition ended in a 110-110 draw, with 12 DPRK players and four players from the U.S. team Harlem Globetrotters divided into two teams. People's Daily

Dennis Rodman 

New photos of Dennis Rodman laughing it up courtside beside Kim Jong Un in North Korea have emerged today capturing the former NBA star's third day aboard where he told the dictator 'you have a friend for life.' Standing before a gymnasium packed with tens of thousands of North Koreans in Pyongyang the former Chicago Bulls star made Kim his promise of friendship for life in a speech following the game. Kim, a diehard basketball fan, in turn told Rodman he hoped the visit would break the ice between the United States and North Korea but just two weeks after conducting a nuclear test as a warning to the U.S. Daily Mail

Dennis Rodman 

The pair sat side-by-side chatting it up as they watched players from North Korea and three members of the U.S.' Harlem Globetrotters compete in a game that ultimately ended with a 110-110 draw. Two Americans were playing on each team alongside North Koreans, said VICE founder Shane Smith who's covering the trip for a new weekly HBO series. The Xinhua News Agency first reported on the game, citing witnesses who attended. Kim and Rodman chatted in English, but Kim primarily spoke in Korean through a translator, Mr Smith said after speaking to the VICE crew in Pyongyang. Daily Mail

Dennis Rodman 

Ex-NBA star Dennis Rodman met North Korea's Kim Jong Un on Thursday on the third day of his improbable journey to Pyongyang, telling the leader ''You have a friend for life,'' a delegation spokesman said. Rodman and Kim sat side by side at an exhibition game in Pyongyang, chatting as they watched players from North Korea and the U.S. play on mixed teams, Alex Detrick, a spokesman for the New York-based VICE media company, told The Associated Press. Kim, a diehard basketball fan, told Rodman he hoped the visit would break the ice between the United States and North Korea, Detrick said. Kim later invited the Americans to dinner. Sportando

Dennis Rodman 

But one warm spot between the countries is apparently basketball, something the Vice media founder Shane Smith realized while filming two documentaries in North Korea recently. He visited the country’s national museum, the Hall of Trophies, where a Michael Jordan-signed basketball given to the former leader Kim Jong-il in 2000 by Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright is displayed prominently among national treasures. Kim Jong-il was obsessed with the Chicago Bulls dynasty of the 1990s, a fascination he apparently passed along to his son, the current leader. “It’s weird because when you go there, it’s all very anti-American,” Smith said. “North Korean kids are fed anti-American propaganda from pretty much the day they are born. But it’s O.K. to like American basketball.” New York Times

Dennis Rodman 

So Smith hatched a plan to take some of those Bulls players to North Korea for one of the installments of a series Smith will host on HBO, called “Vice,” featuring news and footage from around the world, which will make its debut April 5. Smith did not go through the State Department but received permission through his previous contacts and the North Korean ambassador to the United Nations. Smith said he was sure that Kim Jong-un’s love of basketball was why the trip was approved. He quickly found that Jordan was not likely to be a willing ambassador. “But Dennis is up for anything and everything, ” Smith said. He then recruited the Globetrotters to round out a team, and they offered up Anthony Blakes, known as Buckets; Alex Weekes, known as Moose; and Will Bullard, known as Bull. Ryan Duffy, a Vice correspondent who is on the trip, will also join in on the games to fill out the team. New York Times

Dennis Rodman 

The group plans to spend four to five days, visit a children’s sports camp and play some games with North Korean players. They tried to make a good first impression with the North Korean news media upon their arrival. “I’ve always loved Korea — North, South, doesn’t matter,” Bullard told reporters. “I’ve always loved Korea personally. We all do. We love every place that we go. They all accept us for who we are. We’re role models. We have great characteristics. It’s all family fun.” In a bit of unintentional hilarity, one of the reporters asked Rodman whether this was his first visit to North Korea. “It is my first time,” he said. “I think it’s most of these guys’ first time here.” New York Times

Dennis Rodman 

Rodman quickly took to his Twitter account to talk about the trip, writing: “I’m not a politician. Kim Jung Un & North Korean people are basketball fans. I love everyone. Period. End of story.” On a less diplomatic note, he also wrote, “Maybe I’ll run into the Gangnam Style dude while I’m here,” apparently unaware the pop star Psy is South Korean. New York Times

Dennis Rodman 

Dennis Rodman: It's true, I'm in North Korea. Looking forward to sitting down with Kim Jung Un. I love the people of North Korea. #WORMinNorthKorea Twitter

Dennis Rodman 

Flamboyant former NBA star Dennis Rodman is heading to North Korea with VICE media company — tattoos, piercings, bad-boy reputation and all. The American known as "The Worm" is set to arrive Tuesday in Pyongyang, becoming an unlikely ambassador for sports diplomacy at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea. Rodman, three members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, a VICE correspondent and a production crew from the company are visiting North Korea to shoot footage for a new TV show set to air on HBO in early April, VICE told the Associated Press in an exclusive interview before the group's departure from Beijing. It's the second high-profile American visit this year to North Korea, a country that remains in a state of war with the U.S. It also comes two weeks after North Korea conducted an underground nuclear test in defiance of U.N. bans against atomic and missile activity. USA Today Sports

Dennis Rodman, North Korea 

VICE said the Americans hope to engage in a little "basketball diplomacy" in North Korea by running a basketball camp for children and playing pickup games with locals — and by competing alongside North Korea's top athletes in a scrimmage they hope will be attended by leader Kim Jong Un. "At a time when tensions between the two countries are running high, it's important to keep lines of cultural communication open, no matter how non-traditional those channels may be," said Shane Smith, the VICE founder who is host of the upcoming TV series. "It's important to show North Koreans that America is not their enemy, and playing a game we both love is a step in the right direction." USA Today Sports

Dennis Rodman, North Korea 

Dwain Price: Dennis Rodman just choked up and cried and told Jay Leno that the late Dr. Jerry Buss was like a dad to him. #southoakcliff Twitter @DwainPrice

Los Angeles Lakers, Jerry Buss, Dennis Rodman 

"My thoughts and prayers are with the Buss family. Dr. Jerry Buss was like a Dad to me and is a tremendous loss to (at)Lakers fam." — former Lakers forward Dennis Rodman. Washington Examiner

Los Angeles Lakers, Jerry Buss, Dennis Rodman 

Tim Kawakami: Classic Buss: Right before the Lakers started winning big w/Shaq & Kobe, things got tense--firing coaches, signing Rodman, trades... Asked Buss about the controversy surrounding his team. "Some call it controversy," Buss said, arm around a gorgeous girl, "I call it love." Twitter @timkawakami

Los Angeles Lakers, Jerry Buss, Dennis Rodman 

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman made a promotional appearance Saturday in Naperville to sign copies of "Dennis the Wild Bull," recently published in paperback and as an e-book. Chicagoans who hear the name Dennis Rodman think of the basketball player who helped Michael Jordan and the Bulls win three NBA championships. Chicago Tribune

Dennis Rodman 

On Wednesday, the basketball Hall of Famer's children's book, "Dennis The Wild Bull," was released, and Rodman's influence is noticeable right off the bat. The cover is basically Rodman, only in bull (how clever!) form, as it shows a large red bull with red hair, two nose rings, a tattoo and red stubble under his chin. "They'll see me, literally see me. They'll say, 'Wow, this is just like him,'" said Rodman, a member of the Bulls for three seasons. USA Today Sports

Dennis Rodman 

"More than anything, I just want little kids today just to understand, ain't no matter what you do in life, be different, rich or poor man, guess what, it's OK to be who you are pretty much and you'll be accepted," Rodman said. "Dennis The Wild Bull" is a story about Dennis, a bull who was captured from his family, then thrust into a rodeo and forced to live with the other bulls. Dennis doesn't look anything like the rest, but they eventually accept him and all become friends. "Once I got to know the other bulls, I liked them," Rodman said. "I enjoyed their company and stuff like that, and they accepted me for who I am no matter how I look." USA Today Sports

Dennis Rodman 

Even Dennis Rodman laughs at the idea. "Kind of funny, huh?" he said. It's true, though. One of basketball's most outrageous personalities has written a book for kids. The Hall of Famer's book, "Dennis The Wild Bull," came out Wednesday and fans will immediately recognize Rodman's influence. The large red bull on the cover has flowing red hair, two nose rings, a tattoo and red stubble under his chin. SI.com

Dennis Rodman, Hall of Fame 

"They'll see me, literally see me. They'll say, `Wow, this is just like him,"' Rodman said in a phone interview. And he deals with the same issues. Rodman, known as much for his wacky looks and lifestyle off the court as his considerable success on it, said the purpose of the book is simple. "More than anything, I just want little kids today just to understand, ain't no matter what you do in life, be different, rich or poor man, guess what, it's OK to be who you are pretty much and you'll be accepted," Rodman said. SI.com

Dennis Rodman, Hall of Fame 

To the one hundredth of one percent of humans who have experienced what it's like to bounce 40 inches-plus in the air with nothing but a pair high tops to get you there, jumping is an artistic expression. "It's an art form, it really is," Robinson says. "A guy like Gerald Green controls his hops and his jumps are for a purpose. Julius Erving had big hands. He was always moving the ball all around; he made it look like magic in the air. Then you have explosive dunkers who jump high and dunk hard like Dominique Wilkins. Me? I'm an energy jumper. My jumping ability is more like an explosive Dennis Rodman, and since I'm shorter, it looks crazy. I'm just a guy out there who's trying to show the world what I can do. Not too many 5-9 guys can dunk like I can." Yahoo! Sports

Chicago Bulls, Nate Robinson, Gerald Green, Dennis Rodman, Julius Erving, Dominique Wilkins