By . Emma Thomas . PUBLISHED: . 15:55 EST, 24 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:20 EST, 25 December 2013 . Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has withdrawn its sponsorship of retired US basketball player Dennis Rodman's visits to North Korea, saying it was a result of general condemnation of Pyongyang. Rodman returned on Monday from a four-day trip to isolated North Korea that was arranged by Paddy Power and followed the rare public purge of leader Kim Jong Un's powerful uncle Jang Song Thaek, who was executed this month. 'It was really a reaction to the worldwide focus and total condemnation of the North Korean regime over recent events,' the betting firm, which is renowned for its daring marketing, said in a statement. Scroll down for video . Dennis Rodman arrives at the capital airport in Beijing from Pyongyang, North Korea on Monday . Dennis Rodman poses for pictures with North Korean basketball players during a practice session . 'We don't want to be associated with that.' Mr Rodman is planning to hold a basketball game to mark the leader's birthday. He intends to return to Pyongyang in January with a team of fellow former National Basketball Association stars to hold the event. The game, billed by Paddy Power as 'basketball diplomacy' in September this year, will see former NBA stars compete against Koreans. In a blog on the bookmarker's website, the company says it enlisted the help of former Chicago Bulls star Rodman. According to the Telegraph, it called the game the 'Big Bang in Pyongyang' and had the catchline 'hoops, not nukes'. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un  and former NBA star Dennis Rodman speaking at a basketball game . Rodman, 52, has been fiercely criticised by both Americans and North Koreans for his relationship with Kim who has imprisoned and murdered thousands of his own impoverished citizens. The bizarre friendship between the two which began while Rodman was filming an HBO series about the Harlem Globetrotters in February. Rodman has visited Pyongyang on two other occasions, during which he spent time dining as a guest of Kim, with whom he says he has a genuine friendship. He did not meet Kim during his third trip. Dennis Rodman speaks to North Korean basketball players during a practice session . Rodman's first visit in February came shortly after North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in defiance of U.N. resolutions. Rodman said upon his return from that trip that Kim wanted to receive a call from Obama, an avid basketball fan. The White House has said the United States has direct channels of communication with North Korea and declined to directly respond to Rodman's message that Kim hoped to hear from Obama after his previous visit. North Korea's economy, once larger than South Korea's, is now a fortieth the size of its neighbour. Its 24 million people regularly suffer food shortages, the United Nations says.
Rodman returned on Monday from a four-day trip to North Korea .
Mr Rodman planning to hold basketball game to mark the leader's birthday .
The game was billed by Paddy Power as 'basketball diplomacy'
By . Emma Thomas . PUBLISHED: . 15:55 EST, 24 December 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 10:20 EST, 25 December 2013 . Irish bookmaker Paddy Power has withdrawn its sponsorship of retired US basketball player Dennis Rodman's visits to North Korea, saying it was a result of general condemnation of Pyongyang. Rodman returned on Monday from a four-day trip to isolated North Korea that was arranged by Paddy Power and followed the rare public purge of leader Kim Jong Un's powerful uncle Jang Song Thaek, who was executed this month. 'It was really a reaction to the worldwide focus and total condemnation of the North Korean regime over recent events,' the betting firm, which is renowned for its daring marketing, said in a statement. Scroll down for video . Dennis Rodman arrives at the capital airport in Beijing from Pyongyang, North Korea on Monday . Dennis Rodman poses for pictures with North Korean basketball players during a practice session . 'We don't want to be associated with that.' Mr Rodman is planning to hold a basketball game to mark the leader's birthday. He intends to return to Pyongyang in January with a team of fellow former National Basketball Association stars to hold the event. The game, billed by Paddy Power as 'basketball diplomacy' in September this year, will see former NBA stars compete against Koreans. In a blog on the bookmarker's website, the company says it enlisted the help of former Chicago Bulls star Rodman. According to the Telegraph, it called the game the 'Big Bang in Pyongyang' and had the catchline 'hoops, not nukes'. North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un  and former NBA star Dennis Rodman speaking at a basketball game . Rodman, 52, has been fiercely criticised by both Americans and North Koreans for his relationship with Kim who has imprisoned and murdered thousands of his own impoverished citizens. The bizarre friendship between the two which began while Rodman was filming an HBO series about the Harlem Globetrotters in February. Rodman has visited Pyongyang on two other occasions, during which he spent time dining as a guest of Kim, with whom he says he has a genuine friendship. He did not meet Kim during his third trip. Dennis Rodman speaks to North Korean basketball players during a practice session . Rodman's first visit in February came shortly after North Korea conducted its third nuclear test in defiance of U.N. resolutions. Rodman said upon his return from that trip that Kim wanted to receive a call from Obama, an avid basketball fan. The White House has said the United States has direct channels of communication with North Korea and declined to directly respond to Rodman's message that Kim hoped to hear from Obama after his previous visit. North Korea's economy, once larger than South Korea's, is now a fortieth the size of its neighbour. Its 24 million people regularly suffer food shortages, the United Nations says.
condemnation of Pyongyang. Rodman returned on Monday from a four-day trip to isolated North that.' Mr Rodman is planning to hold a basketball game to mark the leader's birthday. He intends to stars to hold the event. The game, billed by Paddy Power as 'basketball diplomacy' in