Matt Cooper joins basketball legends in North Korea for exhibition game

It’s definitely a novel way to spend a week off. Today FM broadcaster Matt Cooper is in North Korea as part of documentary crew covering a basketball game stuffed with former NBA stars, and coinciding with the birthday of leader Kim Jong-un.

NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman has struck up an unlikely friendship with Kim Jong-un, and yesterday arrived in the capital Pyongyang with a team of retired players ahead of an exhibition match tomorrow.

What caught many Irish people by surprise was the presence of 47-year-old Cooper among the retinue.

Cooper interviewed Rodman on The Last Word on Today FM back in October while on a visit to London. It has emerged he is planning on writing a book about the exhibition game and is part of a documentary team from UK-based Chief Productions which is filming proceedings.

However, if he was planning on travelling incognito, it didn’t work. Cooper appeared on news footage of Rodman and the basketball team leaving the airport for North Korea, with a screengrab taken from Sky News quickly doing the rounds on social networks.

Yesterday, Today FM confirmed that Cooper has taken a week of annual leave but stressed that he was travelling to North Korea in a personal capacity and was not working there on behalf of the radio station.

Paddy Power confirmed it had been contacted by Cooper, who has a tie-in with the bookmaker, in September about Rodman’s “basketball diplomacy” initiative and had been involved with the radio interview as part of its planned sponsorship of the game itself.

However, before Christmas, Paddy Power announced it was scrapping its involvement in the event, following the public purge of Kim’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek.

Paddy Power said: “We’ve reviewed the project, and with the benefit of hindsight, we’ve recognised we’ve got this one wrong.”

The bookmaker said yesterday it had not paid for Cooper to travel to North Korea but had paid out on a number of contractual obligations for the project, even though it has pulled its sponsorship and no company logos or signage will be visible at the event.

The basketball team is due to leave for Beijing on Thursday and Cooper is expected back in Dublin on Saturday. Today FM confirmed he is due back on air next week.

It is believed Kim’s birthday is tomorrow and Rodman — on his fourth visit to North Korea — has enticed other notable ex-players such as Kenny Anderson, Cliff Robinson, and Vin Baker, to take part.

The Department of Foreign Affairs travel advice on North Korea states: “As the situation remains uncertain, we currently advise against all non-essential travel to the DPRK.”

BBC Panorama reporter John Sweeney gained access to North Korea last year by posing as an academic from the London School of Economics.

Asked by the Irish Examiner yesterday if he had any tips for Cooper, Mr Sweeney replied: “He should read my book, North Korea Undercover.”

Let’s assume he’s already got a copy. Either way, it should make for some interesting listening on his radio return next week.