Former US basketball player Dennis Rodman will reportedly be in Singapore when Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un next week.
The New York Post reports Rodman will arrive a day before the June 12 meeting and may even play a role in the negotiations.
“No matter what you might think about his presence, one thing’s for sure: the ratings will be huge,” a source told the US tabloid.
“A lot of times in situations that involve complex diplomacy, countries like to identify ambassadors of goodwill and whether you agree with it or not Dennis Rodman fits the bill.”
Rodman has made multiple visits to North Korea and met with Kim at least three times.
Kim's love of basketball and admiration of Rodman's history in the sport - he has won five NBA championships and is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame - led to the meetings.
In one of those meetings, the basketballer was reportedly given permission to hold Kim's baby daughter—the first American to do so.
Rodman's representative, Darren Prince, said a Singapore trip had not been confirmed but that the former NBA star would be prepared to go.
“He’s talked about it, but no final trip or plans have been made,” Prince told The Post.
Kim Jong-un and Dennis Rodman watch a friendly game between North Korean players and former NBA players at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium. Source: AAP
The White House this week confirmed the summit between Trump and Kim would be held on Singapore's southern island of Sentosa.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a Twitter post on Tuesday that "the venue for the Singapore summit between @POTUS and Leader Kim Jong Un will be the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island. We thank our great Singaporean hosts for their hospitality."
The Singapore government has said police would make stricter checks of people and personal belongings, and items such as public address systems and remotely piloted aircraft system would be prohibited in the area.
Sanders told reporters on Monday in Washington that the summit would start on the morning of June 12.
National security advisers are briefing Trump daily about the summit, which he wants to use as a vehicle to persuade Kim to shut down North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 1, 2018. Source: AAP
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