Photos:: Dennis Rodman’s trips to North Korea

Dennis Rodman bows to Kim Jong Un before an exhibition basketball game in Pyongyang to mark the North Korean leader’s 31st birthday.  (Kim Kwang Hyon / Associated Press)

Dennis Rodman, center, pauses with the ball during an exhibition basketball game in Pyongyang to mark the 31st birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.  (Kim Kwang Hyon / Associated Press)

Dennis Rodman huddles with North Korean and fellow former NBA basketball players at a practice session in Pyongyang on Tuesday.  (Kim Kwang Hyon / Associated Press)

Dennis Rodman greets the media Tuesday before getting into a car outside a Pyongyang hotel to go to a practice session with North Korean and former NBA basketball players.  (David Guttenfelder / Associated Press)

Former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman poses for pictures with North Korean basketball players and government officials during a practice session in Pyongyang on Friday. Rodman selected the members of the North Korean team who will play in Pyongyang against visiting NBA stars on Jan. 8, the birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.  (David Guttenfelder / Associated Press)

Dennis Rodman takes a shot during a demonstration for North Korean basketball players in Pyongyang on Friday.  (David Guttenfelder / Associated Press)

Dennis Rodman, second from right, and an interpreter watch a practice session of the North Korean basketball team in Pyongyang on Friday.  (David Guttenfelder / Associated Press)

Dennis Rodman smokes a cigar courtside while watching North Korean basketball players during a practice session in Pyongyang.  (David Guttenfelder / Associated Press)

Dennis Rodman speaks to North Korean basketball players during a practice session in Pyongyang on Friday.  (David Guttenfelder / Associated Press)

Dennis Rodman plays one-on-one with a North Korean player during a practice session in Pyongyang on Friday.  (Kim Kwang Hyon / Associated Press)

Dennis Rodman dribbles a ball next to North Korean officials during a practice session for North Korean players in Pyongyang on Friday.  (David Guttenfelder / Associated Press)

Dennis Rodman addresses North Korean basketball players during a practice session in Pyongyang on Friday.  (David Guttenfelder / Associated Press)

Dennis Rodman leaves the arena after attending a practice session for North Korean basketball players in Pyongyang on Friday.  (David Guttenfelder / Associated Press)

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman, left, arrives at the Beijing airport for a flight to North Korea on Thursday. Rodman is flying to North Korea to help train the national team and renew his friendship with the country’s young leader, Kim Jong Un. Rodman’s trip plans apparently were unaffected by the recent execution of Kim’s uncle in a dramatic political purge.  (Ng Han Guan / Associated Press)

Dennis Rodman disembarks from a North Korean Air Koryo flight from Beijing as he and his entourage arrive at the international airport in Pyongyang.  (Kim Kwang Hyon / Associated Press)

Former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman shakes hands with the vice minister of North Korea’s Sports Ministry, Son Kwang Ho, as Rodman arrives at the international airport in Pyongyang on Thursday.  (Kim Kwang Hyon / Associated Press)

North Koreans look down from a balcony as former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman enters the Koryo Hotel in Pyongyang. Rodman arrived at the North Korean capital to help train the national team and renew his friendship with the North’s young leader, Kim Jong Un.  (David Guttenfelder / Associated Press)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and former NBA star Dennis Rodman watch North Korean and U.S. players in an exhibition basketball game back in February at an arena in Pyongyang, North Korea.  (Jason Mojica / Associated Press)

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman is surrounded by journalists upon arrival at Pyongyang Airport, North Korea. The American known as “The Worm” became an unlikely ambassador for sports diplomacy at a time of heightened tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.  (Kim Kwang Hyon / Associated Press)

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman, fifth from right, poses with three members of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, in red jerseys, and a production crew for the media upon arrival at Pyongyang Airport, North Korea.  (Kim Kwang Hyon / Associated Press)

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman leaves in a lift to evade journalists as he returns from a trip to North Korea at the airport in Beijing.  (Ng Han Guan / Associated Press)