North Korea’s next leader to be, Kim Jong-il’s third son Kim Jong-un, is said to be a big fan of NBA basketball. Kim has never been photographed by Western Media and despite being Swiss educated he has for the most part avoided Western influences.

However much like his father, Kim Jong Un is said to enjoy popular culture and is apparently a fan of NBA basketball. Why is this important you might ask?

Guards in North Korea shooting some hoops - Courtesy of Reuters

If we go back more than 30 years ago, we can remember how pingpong was the sport that brought China and the USA closeLose Weight Exerciser together. It was called Ping Pong Diplomacy and paved the way for China-US relations.

Coming back to today, it is basketball and particularly the NBA that is the major global sport. China is already said to be the biggest basketball market in the world, and is working on completing an NBA branded basketball league in China. North Korea is also a country with ties to basketball, and with a leader emotionally attached to the NBA perhaps we could one day see a repeat in sports diplomacy breaking the ice between unfriendly nations.

The NBA here has an opportunity to bring one of the most isolated and problematic countries in the world to the rest of the world. It is perhaps a distant dream to see an NBA match in North Korea one day between the Pyongyang Rockets and the Bejiing Ducks – but with as massive of implications as this, it is a dream worth holding on to.