Intro:

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea on Thursday (December 19th) to help train the national team and renew his friendship with the North's young leader, Kim Jong Un - a visit seemingly unaffected by the recent execution of Kim's uncle in a dramatic political purge.

Script:

SOUNDBITE (English): Dennis Rodman, Former NBA player:
"I've come over to see my friend, and people always give me a little hard time about me saying that, that he's my friend, and I'm very proud to say he's my friend, because he hasn't done anything to put a damper, to say any negative things about my country, or this an that. Like I said, if I could be that type of person to open those doors for people in America and people around the world, and this is going to be that one thing, and we're going to have twelve American guys, ex-NBA ball players, going back and saying some really, really nice things, some really cool things about this country, I've done my job."