North Korean Ri Defects 7-Foot-9 Basketball Player Hopes To Attract Interest From Nba Teams
One of North Korea’s top basketball players defected to Canada, where he will seek asylum and try to play for a National Basketball Association team, Agence France Presse reported.
Ri Myong-Hun was staying at a hotel in Ottawa under the supervision of Jack Donohue, the former Canadian national team coach, AFP reported, citing a spokesman for the Canadian Immigration Ministry. The ministry, closed for the Victoria Day holiday, couldn’t be reached to comment.
Donohue, speaking Sunday on Canadian Television Network, said the 7-foot-9 Ri would seek political asylum in Canada with the intention of signing with an NBA team.
The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., reported the U.S. State Department sent a memo to the NBA instructing its teams not to attempt to negotiate with Ri. It didn’t cite the source of its information.