Dennis Rodman said that Kim Jong Un is a friend, but he's probably a madman, during comments on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on Wednesday.
The basketball Hall of Famer has been to closed-off North Korea five times since 2013 and has met its leader face-to-face three times.
"For some reason, he trusts me," Rodman said of Kim. "When I went over there, the first thing he said to me was, 'Mr. Rodman, we just want to know, can we trust you?' I said, 'Absolutely.' And that’s how our conversation started."
Rodman told Colbert that the North Korean leader, who President Donald Trump has chided as "Rocket Man" for his threats against the United States, considers him as a friend. He said some of their conversations simply centered around basketball.
"I don't really judge people, you know by their color," Rodman told Colbert. "I don't judge where they come from. I just judge people where, you know, we're all human beings. You know, throughout the day, we’re all human beings. It's funny though that I don't see how people can sit there and say that this person is a 'madman.' He probably is, but I didn't see that. But he probably is."
Rodman said that Kim told him directly that he does not want war against the United States.
"I think he really wants to change (North Korea's) culture," Rodman told Colbert. "I think he's forced to be in this position because every time I go over there, he's changed so much for the people, and people don't see that."
Rodman said he does not discuss politics because he does not see that as his job, but added that he did not "trade" America. He told Colbert he hopes his visit will open the door so the two countries can communicate with each other.
In an interview earlier this week with Agence France-Presse, Rodman said that Kim and Trump were "pretty much the same people." Rodman said he had three things to tell the president from Kim, but Trump blew him off, wrote AFP.
Rodman said he would like to organize a basketball game between North Korea and Guam, one of the U.S. territories Kim had threatened with a rocket strike, wrote AFP.