--- description: The basketball player revealed a letter he sent to Kim Jong Un in January, asking for mercy for American prisoner Kenneth Bae title: Rodman Says He Helped Free Kenneth Bae image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27e0037aacc9e0e2/6986a4d8adae4473525451b3/surprising-photos-2013-040.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Dennis Rodman Says He Helped Secure Kenneth Bae's Release from North Korea by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 10, 2014 3:40 AM CUT  North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and former NBA star Dennis Rodman speak at a basketball game in Pyongyang on Feb. 28, 2013. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and former NBA star Dennis Rodman speak at a basketball game in Pyongyang on Feb. 28, 2013.KCNA—AFP/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 10, 2014 3:40 AM CUT “My dear friend for life, Marshall Kim Jong Un” begins the January 2014 [letter](http://www.tmz.com/2014/11/08/dennis-rodman-kenneth-bae-kim-jong-un-release-proof-letter-north-korea/ "undefined") from Dennis Rodman, in which the former NBA superstar begged the North Korean dictator to release American prisoner Kenneth Bae. Bae was [finally released](http://time.com/3573993/north-korea-detainees-kenneth-bae-matthew-todd-miller/ "undefined") Saturday after spending two years in captivity, and Rodman is claiming a major share of the credit thanks to his letter to the Supreme Leader, TMZ reports. In the letter, Rodman writes that although he “understands the crimes \[Bae\] has committed,” the U.S. needs to see how loving and compassionate the North Korean leader can be. “I ask for your mercy to prisoner Kenneth Bae and would be eternally grateful for his safe return,” because that would be “a big step towards bridging the gap between our two nations,” the basketball star concludes. Rodman never received a reply to his letter, but told TMZ that a video released soon after he sent it that showed Bae alive and well was probably not a coincidence. \[[_TMZ_](http://www.tmz.com/2014/11/08/dennis-rodman-kenneth-bae-kim-jong-un-release-proof-letter-north-korea/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3575237/dennis-rodman-north-korea-prisoner-kenneth-bae-kim-jong-un/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3575237/dennis-rodman-north-korea-prisoner-kenneth-bae-kim-jong-un/"},"headline":"Dennis Rodman Says He Helped Secure Kenneth Bae's Release from North Korea","datePublished":"2014-11-10T03:40:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T11:19:38.751Z","description":"Because he and Kim Jong Un are such great buddies","url":"https://time.com/3575237/dennis-rodman-north-korea-prisoner-kenneth-bae-kim-jong-un/","keywords":["North Korea","Kim Jong Un","Letter","United States","prisoners","release"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27e0037aacc9e0e2/6986a4d8adae4473525451b3/surprising-photos-2013-040.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27e0037aacc9e0e2/6986a4d8adae4473525451b3/surprising-photos-2013-040.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TOPSHOTS-NKOREA-US-BASKET-NBA-RODMAN","caption":"TOPSHOTS-NKOREA-US-BASKET-NBA-RODMAN","creditText":"KCNA—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3575237/dennis-rodman-north-korea-prisoner-kenneth-bae-kim-jong-un/","name":"Dennis Rodman Says He Helped Secure Kenneth Bae's Release from North Korea"}}]}] ```