Hard partying: NBA legend Dennis Rodman's friendship with Kim Jong-un

Dennis described them as 'good friends'. Photo: Reuters.

Basketball legend Dennis Rodman has recalled partying hard with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. Dennis, now 58, was an ambassador for the US to North Korea in 2013 - Jong-un initially wanted Dennis' former Chicago Bulls teammate Michael Jordan, but he turned him down.

Dennis admitted he doesn't know a whole lot about North Korean politics - but recalled a heavy night with Jong-un in which they got "drunk as s***" and sang karaoke.

Speaking on Mike Tyson's Hot Boxin' podcast, he remembered: "I'm thinking I'm going to do an autograph show or play basketball. I ain't know anything about North Korea, stupid as f***, right?"

He added: "When I first met (Jong-un), I was with the Harlem Globetrotters and I wasn't playing so some of the dignitaries asked me to come with them.

"I think I'm going to jail, right. I said, 'What the f*** did I do in America?'

READ ALSO: Fears grow as wife of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un ‘missing’

"I walked up to the stands and sit in front of a desk. These high king chairs, like 20 of them.

"Next thing I know, 22,000 North Koreans all stand up and start clapping and cheering. I thought it was for me so I wave and they say, 'No it's for him (Jong-un)."

Jong-un is said to be a big basketball fans, especially of Dennis' old team, The Chicago Bulls. Photo: Getty Images.

Dennis continued: "We sat there talking about basketball the whole time.

"The game's over and we go into a room and he says, 'We'd love you to come back, we enjoy your company. Let's have dinner tonight, a little karaoke and have some vodka, some hotties and stuff like that.'"

Dennis laughed that they were "drunk as s***" before Jong-un brought out an 18-piece all-female band - who only played the theme from US show Dallas.

"He said, 'That's all we know'," Dennis recalled.

Dennis was part of a US delegation. Photo: Getty Images.

READ ALSO: South Korea says North Korean leader Kim not gravely ill

After Dennis' visit, he has kept up is efforts to bring more sport to North Korea. In 2017, four years after his visit, he told Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain that he and Jong-un have a genuine connection.

They partied into the night. Photo: Getty Images.

Dennis explained: "It was the fact that he loves basketball and I think that's the key for anything in the world - basketball and music.

"I think that's a great connection for anyone in the world - it so happens it has to be me. He obviously likes the Chicago Bulls, he asked me to come over and I said yes."