What do a flamboyant wrestler-turned-senator from Japan, a former NBA star with a penchant for tattoos and a French comedian with a string of convictions to his name have in common? They all form part of a colourful cast of characters that have made well-publicised…
What do a flamboyant wrestler-turned-senator from Japan, a former NBA star with a penchant for tattoos and a French comedian with a string of convictions to his name have in common?
They all form part of a colourful cast of characters that have made well-publicised trips to North Korea, sparking media fascination amid a thirst for information about the hermit kingdom.
Experts say the visits are mainly motivated by self-publicity, but in the absence of conventional ties they can, in some cases, offer a rare point of contact at a time when nuclear tensions on the Korean peninsula are at fever pitch.
Japan’s Antonio Inoki, unmistakable from his outsized chin and trademark tie and red scarf — even in summer — was the latest unorthodox foreign visitor to North Korea for a five-day mission.
It was the 32nd trip to Pyongyang for Inoki, who stands 1.9 meters tall and shot to fame in 1976 for battling then world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a zany wrestler-versus-boxer bout in Tokyo.
Now a lawmaker in Japan’s upper house of parliament, Inoki also forced the government to take an official position about aliens when he tabled a question in a budgetary committee saying he had seen a mysterious flying object disappearing over the horizon.
Inoki has said he wants to „contribute to world peace through sports“ and has arranged martial arts and wrestling festivals in North Korea, often meeting high-ranking officials during his visits.
During his latest trip this week, he said he briefly met North Korea’s ceremonial head of state Kim Yong Nam and his visit merited a series of dispatches from the official KCNA news agency.
