(CNN) -- Former NBA star Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea on Thursday, the country's state-run media reported. Rodman was there for his latest round of controversial "basketball diplomacy" in a country ruled by one of the world's most repressive regimes. The former player and a documentary crew were scheduled to spend four days helping to train a team of North Korean basketball players for a January exhibition in Pyongyang. That January 8 exhibition -- said to be against a yet-unannounced team of former NBA players -- will celebrate the birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whom Rodman has called a friend and a "very good guy" despite international condemnation of the country's human rights records.
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Dennis Rodman to help prepare North Korean basketball players for an upcoming exhibition
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Rodman is important to North Korea's attempts to project unity, columnist Gordon Chang says
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Sister of Kenneth Bae calls on Rodman to press for detainee's release
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Rodman said he struck up a friendship with @placeholder, a basketball fan, during Rodman's first trip in February.
Dennis Rodman
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Dennis Rodman
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Rodman said he struck up a friendship with Kim, a basketball fan, during @placeholder's first trip in February.
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It's not clear whether Rodman will meet with @placeholder on the basketball training visit.
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But after his second trip to see @placeholder in September, Rodman told reporters that it was "not my job to talk about Kenneth Bae."
Kenneth Bae
"I would certainly hope and plead with Mr. Rodman to reconsider and ... make the case" for @placeholder's freedom, she said.