Rodman leaves N. Korea without Kenneth Bae, says, 'Ask Obama about that...'

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman arrives in Beijing Saturday after a five-day trip to North Korea. (CNN)



BEIJING (CNN) -- Former NBA star Dennis Rodman arrived in Beijing on Saturday from North Korea without imprisoned American Kenneth Bae, the Lynnwood man arrested by the Pyongyang regime last year.

Rodman, who visited North Korea this week, was tight-lipped about his trip.

"It is not my job to talk about Kenneth Bae," he told reporters gathered at the Beijing airport.

Sporting a silver, shiny cap and a long scarf, the 6-foot-7 inch former basketball star broke through the crowd and continued talking.

"Ask Obama about that, ask Hillary Clinton about that," Rodman said. "Ask those ---holes."

The eccentric Hall of Famer's trip was the second to the hardline communist state this year to visit North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

In March, Rodman was pictured with Kim, an ardent basketball fan, laughing and eating while watching an all-star basketball match.

He was criticized over the trip, which came amid escalating tension with North Korea threatening missile strikes on the U.S., South Korea and Japan.

Rodman has previously made no secret about his desire to help Bae. He once tweeted that he wanted the 30-year-old unchallenged leader of North Korea to "do him a solid" by freeing Bae.

Bae was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in February after he was convicted of unspecified "hostile acts" against North Korea. The country's state-run Korean Central News Agency said he was arrested late last year after arriving as a tourist in Rason City, a northeastern port near the Chinese border.