In another bizarre twist in modern politics, former NBA player Dennis Rodman is praising President Donald Trump after the White House announced Trump had agreed to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for talks by the end of May.

"Well done President Trump," Rodman told The Washington Post in a statement through his agent. "You're on the way to a historical meeting no US president has ever done. I'm looking forward to bringing more basketball diplomacy to North Korea in the upcoming months. Please send my regards to Marshall [sic] Kim Jong-un and his family."

In recent years, the 56-year-old former power forward has famously made several trips to North Korea to meet with Kim to bring what he calls "basketball diplomacy" to the isolated Asian country. Rodman has also been heavily criticised for building rapport with a man widely considered to be a cruel dictator rather than using his visits to push for the release of Americans held captive in North Korea.

Rodman has maintained that he is not a diplomat. "Well that's not my purpose right now," Rodman told reporters in June, of his most recent trip to North Korea. "My purpose is to go over there and try to see if I can keep bringing sports to North Korea."

US officials stressed that Rodman was not representing the US government or the White House during his visit last June, though Rodman suggested at the time that Trump was pleased that he was making another trip.