Yao Ming adds stardust as North Korea and China show unity through basketball
The former NBA player attends with Chinese ministers to watch teams mixing both countries’ players stage a friendly match in Pyongyang
China has sent its basketball legend Yao Ming on a visit to North Korea in an attempt to promote ties through sport following a series of high-level talks between the countries’ officials.
The former Houston Rockets player – selected eight times for the NBA All-Star Game involving the American league’s star players – was in attendance on Tuesday when Chinese and North Korean basketball players held a friendly match in Pyongyang.
The director of China’s State General Administration of Sports, Guo Zhongwen, and the Chinese ambassador to North Korea, Li Jinjun, were also present at the Pyongyang Ryugyong Chung Ju-yung Gymnasium.
Senior North Korean officials including sports minister Kim Il-guk and foreign affairs minister Ri Su-yong were also at the game.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who was famously serenaded with a rendition of Happy Birthday by former basketball player Dennis Rodman in Pyongyang in 2014, was not at the arena.