Rodman calls Kim Jong Un his friend

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NEW YORK, March 3 (UPI) -- Dennis Rodman, the first American to meet North Korea's new leader Kim Jong Un, called the man his friend, but said he doesn't condone his actions.

"I understand what he's doing. I don't condone that. I hate the fact that he's doing that," he said on ABC's "This Week." "But the fact is, you know what? That's a human being. He let his guards down, he did one thing to me, he's been a friend."

Rodman said he believes Kim is a great man, and that he will change how things are done in North Korea, and said Kim asked him to have President Barack Obama call him.

"He said, 'If you can Dennis, I don't want to do war. I don't want to do war,'" Rodman said.

Rodman suggested the two men start by talking about basketball, a sport both men love.

When George Stephanopoulos asked about Kim's placement of 200,000 people in prison camps, Rodman said he didn't want to get involved in politics and said he doesn't want to be a diplomat.

"It's just like we do over here in America, right?" Rodman said. "It's amazing that Bill Clinton could ... have sex with his secretary ... and really get away it and still be powerful."