Seoul ( CNN ) -- Luke Elie claims he and his American basketball team introduced the high five to North Korea . It 's a big claim , but anything 's possible after the group of fourteen players and coaches held a week of training camps for North Korean students in the capital , Pyongyang . `` We really wanted to promote basketball , diplomacy , friendship , break those barriers , '' said Elie who founded the club -- Coaches Team -- while living in South Korea . The club 's stated mission is to `` use basketball to break down political and social boundaries that exist all around the globe . '' Growing up with his missionary parents in South Korea close to the DMZ -- or demilitarized zone , separating north and south -- Elie always wanted to see what was happening in Pyongyang . `` North Korea was a place that was so close yet so far away . '' Elie believes his was the first American basketball team ever to visit North Korea . His intention was to foster friendships and build trust through sport . `` We wanted to ... bring in a whole team of Americans and say hey we 're not those guys you see on posters , '' he said . `` We 're not those guys you hate so much , we want to be separated from the government and let the government do whatever they want . '' Relations between Washington and Pyongyang have long been strained . Tensions rose earlier this year after the North Korean regime defied international warnings and launched a long-range rocket . The U.S. and other countries saw the launch as cover for a ballistic missile test . But Coaches Team was adamant their visit would ignore politics . The players had far more interaction with North Koreans than most tourists do , although Elie admits the students they trained were suspicious of them in the beginning . `` At first there was distance , '' he said . `` But before the end of the games and practicing sessions , the kids were definitely laughing with us . It took a while to get laughs out of the kids , we did n't know why they did n't smile . '' Basketball is one American import that the North Korean leadership may not object to . The young leader Kim Jong Un is believed to love the sport as did his father , the late Kim Jong Il , who is rumored to have been a big fan of basketball star Michael Jordan . Elie hopes that may help when they try to return next year . But even though the trip was a sporting one , the team did not escape the usual North Korean propaganda . They were taken by their tour group to the USS Pueblo , a U.S. Navy spy ship captured by Pyongyang in 1968 and told stories of the `` US imperialists , '' but that did n't seem to phase Elie . `` We tried not to look to the anti-Americanism or the propaganda , we knew it was coming , we were briefed ahead of time and we did n't want to get caught up in that . '' The group also attended a Protestant church service . Human rights groups claim that North Korean Christians have faced persecution in the past for practicing their religion . `` To actually go there and be a part of a church service of that kind was actually very shocking , it was very enlightening and actually a very interesting experience , '' said Elie , himself a Christian . And there was the obligatory visit to the huge bronze statues of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il . Other sightseeing tours included Pyongyang 's funfair and the famous Juche Tower , named after Kim Il Sung 's principle of `` Juche '' or `` self-reliance . '' The players and coaches raised $ 50,000 themselves to fund the trip . They 're hoping to find sponsorship for future visits -- and Elie is determined there will be more training tours . `` We 've seen as athletes and as someone who 's played and traveled all around the world and with groups that have done likewise , '' he said `` We 've seen what basketball can do to break down barriers or race , religion and anything else you could ever imagine . '' CNN 's K.J . Kwon contributed to this report .
American basketball clubs held training camps for North Korean players . NBA founder Luke Elie grew up with his missionary parents in South Korea close to the border . He believes his was the first American basketball team ever to visit North Korea . New leader Kim Jong Un is said to love basketball , as did his father .