By Sam Webb PUBLISHED: 04:38 EST, 23 December 2013 | UPDATED: 12:44 EST, 23 December 2013 Former basketball star Dennis Rodman has appealed to fellow veterans to play a match in North Korea for dictator Kim Jong Un saying: 'Don’t be afraid, it’s all love here.' The flamboyant Rodman has admitted struggling to convince former NBA players to travel to Pyongyang to take part in the exhibition match to celebrate Kim’s birthday next month. It comes after the unpredictable dictator executed his once powerful uncle this month. At trials for North Korean players yesterday at the Pyongyang Indoor Gymnasium Rodman said: 'You know, they’re still afraid to come here, but I’m just telling them, you know, don’t be afraid man, it’s all love, it’s all love here.'
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The former basketball star is holding game for Kim Jong Un's birthday
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But other NBA veterans are reluctant to travel to secretive nation
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Rodman and dictator have an unlikely friendship after 2011 meeting
This was @placeholder's third trip to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.