Former basketball player Dennis Rodman is returning to North Korea with a dozen former NBA colleagues to play an exhibition game. He said he hoped the trip would show people that the secretive state is "not that bad".
Dennis Rodman led an auditorium of North Koreans in singing "Happy Birthday" to their leader Kim Jong Un.
The celebration comes a day after the former U.S. basketball star sparked controversy by appearing to suggest a Korean-American was to blame for his captivity in the restrictive state.
Rodman brought a team of fellow former NBA stars to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, to mark the birthday of leader Kim Jong Un with an exhibition game.
The birthday is believed to have been on Wednesday though that has not been confirmed.
Simon Cockerell, a tour guide who watched the game in Pyongyang, said the audience had stood and cheered Kim for up to six minutes when he appeared with his wife.
The Democratic presidential candidate may also have shown his cards on his choice of running mate.
The US president also shared a post on Twitter accusing Dr Anthony Fauci of misleading the public over hydroxychloroquine.
Fears over an impending second wave of coronavirus dominates Wednesday’s front pages.