Dennis Rodman is a fool

The "bad boy of basketball" should be the last American to visit North Korea

Dennis Rodman outside a Pyongyang hotel.
(Image credit: AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

Here's an idea: It's time to stop calling North Korea the "hermit kingdom." The reason? It craves media attention and always seems to have some scheme to get it — even if Washington is transfixed once again with the latest Russia-related testimony of the day.

Case in point: It seems clear that North Korea timed the release of student tourist-turned-hostage Otto Warmbier — who has contracted botulism and has been in a coma for over a year — to the arrival of D-list celebrity Dennis "best friend of Kim Jong Un" Rodman.

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Harry J. Kazianis

Harry J. Kazianis is director of defense studies at the Center for the National Interest, founded by former U.S. President Richard M. Nixon.