"My objective is to actually see if I can keep bringing sports to North Korea, so that's the main thing", Rodman said on Tuesday in quotes reported by the BBC.
Rodman has received the red-carpet treatment on four past trips since 2013.
Dennis Rodman's trip to North Korea has some, including The Washington Post, wondering whether President Donald Trump tapped the five-time National Basketball Association champion to return to the hot-button pariah nation.
The State Department is continuing to discuss the situation of three other detained Americans with North Korea, Tillerson said.
Rodman isn't representing the U.S. government or serving as President Donald Trump's emissary, Anton said.
Mr Rodman appeared on Celebrity Apprentice when it was hosted by Donald Trump, and supported the Republican during the presidential race.
Otto Warmbier (WORM'-bir) was serving a 15-year prison term with hard labor for alleged anti-state acts.
Mr Rodman urged Kim to release Kenneth Bae, who had been sentenced to 15 years of hard about, but also claimed Mr Bae was to blame for his imprisonment.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson confirmed the release, and said Washington remains in talks with the isolated regime "regarding three other USA citizens reported detained". Thousands of USA troops are based in South Korea, and the Demilitarized Zone between the North and South is one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world.
Speaking to CNN before boarding his flight, Rodman said he hoped to do "something that's pretty positive", although he did not intend to bring up the detained Americans during any discussions with North Korean leaders. Global negotiations on the dispute over North Korea's nuclear program have been in limbo for years, as the USA cranks up economic sanctions and North Korea won't give up weapons it considers a guarantee against invasion. In particular, Kim Jong Un is said to have an interest in the Chicago Bulls team that Rodman played on in the late 1990's.
In letter to US Congress, Sessions seeks to overturn medical marijuana protection
He arrived in the job in February eager to launch ambitious efforts to combat violent crime and deport undocumented immigrants. The committee chairman, Senator Richard Burr , responded that the Senators should allow the chairs to control the hearing.
Rodman, a member of the NBA Hall of Fame, previously traveled to North Korea in January 2014.
The five-time NBA champion first went to the hermit state to host basketball exhibition, and his travel party reportedly became the first Americans to meet Kim.
North Korea has fired 16 missiles in 10 tests this year. "Mr. Warmbier is en route to the United States, where he will be reunited with his family".
A source familiar with the government's efforts to free Warmbier says the State Department learned about the student's medical condition about a week ago.
His entourage includes Joseph Terwilliger, a professor who has accompanied Rodman on previous trips to North Korea.
Rodman's longtime agent, Darren Prince, indicated the star has diplomatic intentions for his North Korean excursion.
"Otto has left North Korea". He worked at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.
But Trump has also described Kim as a "madman with nuclear weapons" who could not be let on the loose.
- South Korean-born USA citizen Kim Dong Chul, who was sentenced in April 2016 to 10 years in prison with hard labor after being convicted of espionage.
Comments