Way to reach Kim Jong-un? Follow the ball

When President Obama secretly sent envoys last summer with a warning against new nuclear tests and an offer of a thaw in relations,they could meet only functionaries. And the few Western diplomats who live in Pyongyang are so desperate that a British envoy once rode on a roller-coaster with Kim. The British foreign office reportedly later explained that any engagement was vital.

Even Bill Richardson,the former New Mexico governor who has visited the North eight times,was locked out of a meet-and-greet with Kim when he visited Pyongyang with Googles Eric E Schmidt,whose Silicon Valley star power was supposed to prove irresistible to the young leader.

Enter Dennis Rodman,the tattooed,lip-studded former NBA star,who not only got a meeting with Kim,but proclaimed him a friend for life while watching a basketball game during which the two conversed in English. Kims English was said to be limited. In photos that have gone viral,the two men were seen laughing together.

Rodman made the trip to the North with Vice Media,which is producing an HBO series,but there was no guarantee that Kim would see him,even though the North Korean leader is known to be a die-hard basketball fan.

Rodman and his travelling companions are now the only Americans known to have met Kim. The only high-level officials Kim has met while in office,experts say,are from China,North Koreas faithful ally.

Why Rodman? The Pyongyang basketball match was a great PR arena, explained Kim Yong-hyun,a North Korea specialist at Dongguk University in Seoul,who said Kim could present himself as open-minded to his own people while signaling to the West that he was not a bad boy and not as isolated as the US might wish.

And while the choice of Rodman might seem oddhe is known for cross-dressing and was visiting a nation where long hair for men and short skirts for women are forbiddenRichardson said in an interview that it was not surprising given Kims love of basketball. Richardson said he has been asked by North Korean officials to persuade Michael Jordan to visit.

Richardson said the visit could be valuable. Any information about Kim Jong-un,his mannerisms,his ability to speak English,his personal assessment,is valuable, he said.

The State Department was not nearly so sanguine. We havent been in touch with this party at all, a spokesperson said in response to questions,leaving out Rodmans name. If there are Americans who after travelling in North Korea want to get in touch with us8230; we take the phone calls.

Vice,a provocative culture magazine,conceived of the PR stunt to help gain access to North Korea and in the hope that Kim would show up. It asked Rodman and three Harlem Globetrotters to travel to Pyongyang and perform in an exhibition game.

For the record,Vice says the 110-to-110 tie between the American players and the North Korean team was the result of a fair battle. Also for the record: a Vice producer tweeted Kims banquet was an alcohol-fuelled affair.

But some media critics make the point that it is easier to talk about basketball than the gulags that imprison 1 in 120 of North Koreans. One hopes that in between the lavish 10-course meals8230; and paying tribute to the statues of late despots Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-ilRodman actually learned something about North Korea and the people he says he loves, Ishaan Tharoor,a Time writer,wrote on time.com.

And that was before Rodman,who was clicked hugging Kim,left the country with these words: I love him Kim. The guys really awesome.