Football and basketball against war and for peace with Pyongyang
South Korean President Moon Jae-in wants to organise the 2030 FIFA World Cup jointly with North Korea. Former US basketball star Denis Rodman, whose is admired by Trump and Kim Jong-un, travels to Pyongyang today to mediate between the two. North Korean leader is said to be ready to strike at US territory. US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis says North Korea poses the most dangerous threat to the world.
Pyongyang (AsiaNews/Agencies) – South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US basketball star Dennis Rodman are involved in US-North Korean diplomacy.
Moon has presented FIFA with a proposal to organise the 2030 World Cup jointly with North Korea. "I believe it would help promote peace in the region if Northeast Asian countries, including South and North Koreas, could jointly host a FIFA World Cup," Moon was quoted as saying. "I will see if I can create such an opportunity for the 2030 World Cup," he added.
FIFA chief Gianni Infantino said there likely will be "difficulties" for such a project, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. Still FIFA’s top official also offered to run the possibility of bringing China in to mediate. Infantino is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in two days time.
Two issues stand in the way for this to happen. First, China wants to organise the centennial edition of the World Cup on its own, but, secondly, it is up against a joint South American bid by Argentina-Uruguay whose teams played the first final in 1930.
Meanwhile, former NBA champion Dennis Rodman is expected today in Pyongyang where he will meet with Kim Jong-un. It is likely that Rodman, whom Kim admires, will seek to mediate the release of four US citizens held in North Korea for espionage and stealing a Kim poster.
Rodman is a link between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump. In fact, the basketball player was on Trump 's Celebrity Apprentice' s show twice and has already travelled three times to North Korea to meet Kim, who has been a fan since he studied incognito at a Swiss college.
The two initiatives come at a time of high tensions between the United States and North Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has threatened to launch a missile attack against US territory, including New York City.
As for the Trump administration, “The most urgent and dangerous threat to peace and security is North Korea," US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said in a statement to the House Armed Services Committee.
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15/06/2023 10:45
27/03/2023 11:45
