Dennis Rodman Holds Basketball Tryouts for North Korea's 'Big Bang in Pyongyang' Match Against 12 Unnamed Ex-NBA Players

Dennis Rodman sat in the Pyongyang Indoor Gymnasium on Friday, clad in a pink button down and scarf, smoking a cigar, watching a team of local North Korean hopefuls running drills up and down the polished wood floors.

Rodman got straight to work after he landed in the DPRK the day before, holding tryouts for his exhibition game for Kim Jong-Un's birthday next month. The match, which has tentatively been named "The Big Bang in Pyongyang," will be against 12 former NBA players who haven't yet been identified. According to the Associated Press, it seems Rodman hasn't yet brought the American team around to the idea of playing in North Korea, especially since the latest news out of Pyongyang tells of the execution of political figure and Kim's uncle Jang Song-Thaek. Jang's disappearance has caused many foreign analysts to question the future of Kim's regime.

But Rodman insisted on Friday that the political climate in North Korea was safe for a visit.

"You know, they're still afraid to come here, but I'm just telling them, you know, don't be afraid, man, it's all love, it's all love here," Rodman said to AP reporters following the tryouts at the gym. "I understand what's going on with the political stuff, and I say, I don't go into that venture, I'm just doing one thing for these kids here, and for this country, and for my country, and for the world, pretty much."

Rodman told the few dozen local basketball players after the session that the 12 people he chose for the North Korean roster would receive two new pairs of sneakers. He also asked them why they enjoyed playing basketball, to which player Kim Un Chol responded that he liked watching it on TV, which compelled him to participate in the sport. He also added that he wanted to be a good player because basketball was a favorite of leader Kim Jong-Un and his deceased father, Kim Jong-Il.

The rest of the players said they regarded basketball in a similar manner, AP reported.

"I want you guys to do one thing for your leader," Rodman answered thereafter. "It's his birthday. It's a very special, special day for the country."

Rodman and North Korean leader Kim have struck up an unlikely friendship, since Rodman first visited North Korea earlier this year as part of a VICE media documentary.