During an interview with CNN on Friday, Dennis Rodman said he is willing to trade places with an American man imprisoned in North Korea the next time he visits Kim Jong Un, Reuters reported.
Rodman, who spoke from a substance abuse facility in New York City, said he symphathizes with Kenneth Bae, who was locked in prison and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in 2012, and his family that wants him home.
His comments on Friday follow controversial remarks he made to CNN during his last trip to North Korea, where he drunkenly suggested that Bae was responsible for being imprisoned.
"I have sympathy -- I don't want anyone in any country or anywhere in the world to be hostage for something maybe they did or did not do," Rodman said.
"I would do anything...If they said, 'We'll take Dennis Rodman and we'll let Kenneth Bae go,' you know what? I'd do that, straight ahead. Take me. I would do that."
Additionally, he invited CNN interview Chris Cuomo to come with him on his next visit to North Korea.
"You go there with me. I will give you this opportunity on national TV, on national TV, I will take you over there and introduce you to [Kim Jong Un]," Rodman said.
"And I would love for you to come back here and tell the world, tell the world [that] 'person to person' is he a nice guy when you meet him ... not politics. When you meet him and sit down and have dinner with him."
Earlier this month, Rodman, a former NBA player, took a group of other former players to an exhibition game in Pyongyang. They also attended a birthday party for Kim, who he referred to as his best friend and a great leader.
After the interview he gave earlier this month -- which he subsequently apologized for -- he entered a rehabilitation center.
