Wrestlers bring fighting diplomacy to North Korea

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• published: 30 Aug 2014
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In a rare display of public emotion in North Korea, foreign professional wrestlers bring circus-style mayhem to Pyongyang Flamboyant Japanese wrestler-turned-politician Kanji "Antonio" Inoki kicked off his brand of sports diplomacy in North Korea Saturday in an unusual two-day event featuring martial artists from around the world. Inoki, 71, an opposition member of Japan's upper house with a penchant for red scarves, has travelled to the reclusive state with a host of international fighters in an attempt to use sport to thaw relations between Tokyo and Pyongyang. He met with North Korea's ceremonial head of state Kim Yong-Nam on Saturday, hours before the first night of the "International Pro Wrestling Festival" kicked off at Pyongyang's 20,000-seat Ryugyong Jong Ju-Yong Stadium. Kim presides over North Korea's parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly, and often receives state guests or credentials from foreign ambassadors – an indication of how seriously Pyongyang is taking Inoki's visit. "I feel very grateful for your continuous efforts to promote mutual understanding between the two countries and create an environment toward improvement in Korea-Japan relations," the 86-year-old Kim told Inoki at the Mansudae Assembly Hall, Kyodo news agency reported. Supreme leader Kim Jong-un, who is a keen sports fan, did not appear at the martial arts event as he did in January when former US basketball star Dennis Rodman sang "Happy Birthday" to him before an exhibition game. Speaking at the opening, Inoki said that "prompted by this international event, I am hoping that the door of Japan and (North) Korea that has been shut for a long time will be opened". Inoki – who stands six feet three inches tall – has organised the festival with North Korea's authorities, taking along 21 grapplers from Japan, the US, France and Brazil as well as one from China, North Korea's communist ally. They include Bob Sapp, a former American mixed martial artist and household name in Japan, Jerome Le Banner of France and Brazilian Montanha Silva. When Inoki and his entourage arrived in Pyongyang via Beijing on Thursday, he held talks with Kang Sok-Ju, a key figure in North Korea's diplomatic circles and a secretary of the Workers Party. North Korea's high-profile treatment of Inoki seems to indicate its readiness to improve ties with Japan, public broadcaster NHK said. Inoki is best known abroad for battling then world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a zany wrestler-versus-boxer in Tokyo in 1976. But he has also cultivated strong connections with the Pyongyang regime, having now made 30 trips since 1974 to the isolated state, the birthplace of his late wrestling mentor known by the ring name of Rikidozan who still remains a sporting legend in Japan and a national hero in North Korea. His willingness to involve himself in Japan's diplomacy made headlines in 1990, when he helped secure the release of 41 Japanese hostages in Iraq during the Gulf War after meeting Saddam Hussein's son and staging a wrestling show in Baghdad. In 1995, Inoki organised and competed in the first-ever pro-wrestling exhibition in North Korea, featuring matches between Japanese and US pro-wrestlers with an ailing Ali as a guest. He retired from wrestling in 1998. Get the latest headlines http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ Subscribe to The Telegraph http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=telegraphtv Like us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/telegraph.co.uk Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/telegraph Follow us on Google+ https://plus.google.com/102891355072777008500/ Telegraph.co.uk and YouTube.com/TelegraphTV are websites of The Daily Telegraph, the UK's best-selling quality daily newspaper providing news and analysis on UK and world events, business, sport, lifestyle and culture.