Dennis Rodman Comments on Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un Relationship

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman spoke with TMZ Sports about the time he spent in North Korea in the past amid North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's historic summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and United States President Donald Trump saying he could meet with Jong Un some time in the next month.

"The fact that when I went over there the last time for [Jong Un's] birthday, I gave him Donald Trump's books. ... I think he didn't realize who Donald Trump was at that time. I gave him the books so he could understand him," Rodman said.

"I don't want to take all the credit. I don't want to say, 'I did this, I did that,'" Rodman said of any progress in the relationship between North Korea and the United States. "That's not my intention. My intention was to go there and be a sports ambassador to North Korea so people understand how the people are in North Korea."

Rodman's unexpected role as something of an ambassador between the countries developed, in part, due to Kim's fandom of the Chicago Bulls while he was a child. And Rodman said he hopes his role between the countries can be that of a peacemaker.

"I don't ask Donald Trump for anything. I like Donald Trump," he noted. "He's a good friend, and I've always asked him to talk to me because the good people of North Korea and the government asked me to talk to Donald Trump about what they want and how we can solve things."

During the summit between the North and South Korean leaders, the two countries agreed to denuclearize the peninsula and end the long-running war between the North and South. However, Kim wanted assurances that the United States would not act as an aggressor toward the country, per Ben Westcott, Yoonjung Seo and Sophie Jeong of CNN.com:

"The United States, though inherently hostile to North Korea, will get to know once our talk begins that I am not the kind of person who will use nuclear weapons against the South or the United States across the Pacific. There is no reason for us to possess nuclear weapons ... if mutual trust with the United States is built through frequent meetings from now on, and an end to the war and non-aggression are promised."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also said in an interview with ABC News' Jonathan Karl that he spoke to Kim a month ago in Pyongyang and had an "extensive conversation on the hardest issues that face our two countries" (h/t Eli Watkins and Ben Westcott of CNN.com).

Friday's summit offers no guarantees. Per CNN, "Although Kim has publicly said he is ready for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, experts say his definition of the term may differ from the US and South's, and there is widespread skepticism that Kim would ultimately be willing to give up his nuclear weapons."

But Rodman said he was pleased with any potential progress.

"I'm just so happy that things are going well," he concluded.