--- title: Sylvester Stallone Has a Cameo in North Korea Film description: A surprising face makes a cameo in a video the Trump Administration made for Kim Jong Un: Sylvester Stallone. canonical: https://time.com/5309975/donald-trump-kim-jong-un-sylvester-stallone/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-12T16:12:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:30:37.903Z article:section: Politics og:title: There's a Good Reason Sylvester Stallone Has a Cameo in Trump's North Korea Film og:description: Kim Jong Un is a fan og:url: https://time.com/5309975/donald-trump-kim-jong-un-sylvester-stallone/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt198bc85ff0a01845/698932e00a4a2231ae9d2f25/gettyimages-971886374.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: TOPSHOT-SINGAPORE-US-NKOREA-DIPLOMACY-SUMMIT og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: There's a Good Reason Sylvester Stallone Has a Cameo in Trump's North Korea Film twitter:description: Kim Jong Un is a fan twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt198bc85ff0a01845/698932e00a4a2231ae9d2f25/gettyimages-971886374.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # There's a Good Reason Sylvester Stallone Has a Cameo in Trump's North Korea Film > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=5949f7dd-f3d8-4617-b2a9-12359c9c1ee0&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Here's the Video President Trump Showed to Kim Jong Un [Watch (HLS stream): Here's the Video President Trump Showed to Kim Jong Un](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/N0kwK2Za.m3u8) (4:05)  _Published 2018-06-12. Just before President Donald Trump addressed the world’s media in Singapore after his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, journalists were shown a video._ by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Jun 12, 2018 4:12 PM UTC Just before President Donald Trump addressed the world’s media in Singapore after his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, journalists were shown a video. by [Ryan Teague Beckwith](https://time.com/author/ryan-teague-beckwith/) ## Ryan Teague Beckwith Jun 12, 2018 4:12 PM UTC A surprising face makes a cameo in [the four-minute video](https://www.vox.com/world/2018/6/12/17452876/trump-kim-jong-un-meeting-north-korea-video) the Trump Administration made to persuade Kim Jong Un to rejoin the world community: Sylvester Stallone. Around the 2:45 mark in the video, narrated as though it were a movie trailer, a brief still image shows President Donald Trump standing next to Stallone in the Oval Office. The image comes from Trump’s May [pardon of boxing legend Jack Johnson](http://time.com/5290487/trump-pardon-jack-johnson/), which the _Rocky_ star personally lobbied for. As jarring as the image might be in the frame of traditional diplomacy, it actually makes sense given the audience of one at which the trailer is aimed. The North Korean autocrat is known to be a fan of Western pop culture, and the _Rocky_ series specifically. In [a 2017 interview](http://www.businessinsider.com/dennis-rodman-says-kim-jong-un-loves-karaoke-tv-theme-tunes-and-80s-music-2017-5), basketball star Dennis Rodman said that Kim had a “13-piece girls band with violins” playing classic rock by Jimi Hendrix and The Doors. “When I first went, the live band only played two songs for four hours: the theme songs from _Rocky_ and _Dallas_,” he said. In 2012, the Chosun Ilbo, a South Korean newspaper, [reported that a 100-minute program](http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html%5Fdir/2012/07/13/2012071301241.html) on North Korean Central TV included around three minutes’ worth of scenes from _Rocky IV_ while a group of 10 female instrumentalists played “Gonna Fly Now” from the movie’s soundtrack. The four-minute film that Trump showed Tuesday also featured stock footage of a [dunking basketball player](https://www.gettyimages.com/license/578-44), another Kim obsession. As unusual as the video was, it may have worked. [Kim remarked about the day’s events](http://www.nydailynews.com/newswires/entertainment/trump-shows-kim-video-laying-stakes-summit-article-1.4032624) through a translator that “any people in the world that will think of this as a scene from a … science fiction movie.” Trump was also a fan. “We had it made up. I showed it to him today, actually during the meeting, toward the end of the meeting and I think he loved it,” he said during a news conference. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Seven billion people inhabit planet Earth. Of those alive today, only a small number will leave a lasting impact, and only the very few will make decisions or take actions that renew their Homeland and change the course of history. History may appear to repeat itself for generations, cycles that never seem to end. There have been times of relative peace and times of great tension. [ MUSIC ] While this cycle repeats, the light of prosperity and innovation has burned bright For most of the world. History is always evolving and there comes a time when only a few are called upon to make a difference. But the question is, what difference will the few make? The past doesn't have to be the future. Out of the darkness Darkness can come the light. And the light of hope can burn bright. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ MUSIC ] What if a people that share a common and rich heritage can find a common future? Their story Is well known, but what will be their sequel? [ MUSIC ] Destiny Pictures presents, a story of opportunity. A new story, a new beginning, one of peace, two men, two leaders, one destiny. [ MUSIC ] A story about A special moment in time. When a man is presented with a one chance, that may never be refuted. What will you choose? To show vision and leadership or not. There can only be two results. One of moving back. [ MUSIC ] [ NOISE ] Or one of moving forward. [ NOISE ] [ MUSIC ] A new world can begin today. One of friendship, respect, and goodwill. Be part of that world where the doors of opportunity Opportunity are ready to be open. Investment from around the world where you can have medical breakthroughs and abundance of resources. Innovative technology and new discoveries. What if can history be change? Will the world embrace this change? And when could this moment in history begin. It comes down to a choice. On this day, in this time, at this moment. The world will be watching, listening, anticipating, hoping. Will this leader choose to advance his country and be part of a new world With the hero of his people, will he shake the hand of peace and enjoy prosperity like he has never seen. A great life or more isolation. Which path will be chosen? Featuring President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un, in a meeting to remake history, to shine in the sun one moment One choice. What if. 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