During a visit to North Korea this week, former NBA star Dennis Rodman told Kim Jong Un, “You have a friend for life.”

Kim hoped the visit by Rodman and several Harlem Globetrotters basketball players would prove an icebreaker between their two countries, the leader confided as he and Rodman sat side by side watching a basketball game, according to the Associated Press. The North Korea leader is reportedly an avid basketball fan.

It will take some skilled sports diplomacy to address the tension between the United States and North Korea, which conducted a nuclear test just two weeks ago in what was taken as a direct act of provocation against the United States.

The bilateral basketball game was a step in the right direction — AP reports the game ended in a 110-110 tie between the teams, which had two Americans playing alongside North Korean players.

A return visit doesn’t appear to be coming any time soon, however. After Kim plied his American guests with liquor, one invited the leader to visit the United States— a proposal met with hearty laughter.