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Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Retired basketball Hall-of-Famer Dennis Rodman told reporters in Guam he would sacrifice his life to bring his two friends U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un closer together. "I would sacrifice my life...for those two guys to get together. I would go there and put my life on the line," Rodman said, according to the Pacific News Center.
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The former professional athlete was in Guam on Thursday on a goodwill mission: Reassure residents of the U.S. territory that they are safe, and to state his goal is to bring an end to tensions between the two countries.
"To me, [Kim] does not want to have war," he said, according to Pacific Daily News. "It may not sound like that on the news, but I see it as Donald Trump and Kim, it's like two big kids, who's the toughest."
The former basketball player visited North Korea in 2013, 2014 and again in 2017.
Rodman also said he stands in solidarity with the people of Guam, and that he is seeking their help in uniting the United States and North Korea for the purpose of peace.
"I just came here to try and see if I could bridge the gap and show the leader of North Korea that I'm not afraid to come here even though if something happened I'll be here for Guam. If anything happens, I'll be here. If you guys can take the punishment I'm gonna take the punishment, too."
Rodman kept the press conference light-hearted, staying away from politics and issues like human rights, while describing Kim as a "big kid."
"To me I always say he's a big kid. We always talk about basketball...No politics no nothing about America against North Korea we don't talk about stuff like that. It's always very light," Rodman said.
He also said Trump has a "big ego," but also thanked his friend for allowing him to visit the Kim regime in June.
Rodman delivered copies of Trump's books to North Korean officials on his last visit, shortly before Pyongyang launched more missiles and threatened to attack the waters near Guam.
Rodman also said Trump has not asked to speak with him personally about North Korea.
