Twitter was ablaze Sunday night with the news that North Korea dictator Kim Jong-il has finally died. Jong-il had been in power since 1994 and was very anti-American. With his passing, the heir apparent is Kim Jong-un. Luckily for the US, Jong-un happens to be a huge NBA fan.
Take this story for example:
He proudly showed off photographs of himself standing with Toni Kukoc of the Chicago Bulls and Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers. It is unclear where the pictures were taken. On at least one occasion, a car from the North Korean Embassy drove Pak Un to Paris to watch an NBA exhibition game
I would have never guessed that someone from North Korea would be a huge NBA fan. Considering how tight communications in and out are controlled, I’m kind of surprised he knows what the NBA is. Then again, being the son of the ruler of the country probably has some benefits.
I also find it funny that he proudly shows off photos of him with Toni Kukoc and Kobe Bryant. I get the Kobe photo, but he couldn’t track down MJ or Scottie Pippen? It seems like a photo with Kukoc would be disappointing considering his teammates.
Jong-un also enjoys playing basketball, so maybe a goodwill one-on-one game between him and Barack Obama could be the first step to thawing relations with North Korea.
Thanks to the Chosun Illbo for the story.
