North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects a military factory in this undated picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on Friday, May 17. North Korea launched several short-range guided missiles into the sea off the Korean Peninsula's east coast May 18, South Korea's semi-official news agency Yonhap cited the South Korean Defense Ministry as saying.
(CNN) -- It seems North Korea's new leader Kim Jong Un is carrying on his father's strange tradition: mixing a fascination with American culture with a hatred of the United States.
Kim has made it quite clear that his country's February nuclear test marks a new phase of confrontation with the United States, which Pyongyang has described as "the sworn enemy of the Korean people."
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Yet that hasn't stopped Pyongyang from welcoming a few dignitaries from this "sworn enemy" nation, including a top Google executive and a few basketball stars.
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No one knows if it's all part of an organized effort to woo North Korea into diplomacy by appealing to its leader's interest in American culture. Yet one thing is for sure: This love-hate relationship has sparked some odd stories out of the Hermit Kingdom. Here's a look at some of the most recent ones we've come across:
1. Kim Jong Un: Dennis Rodman's new BFF
If you read the reports about former NBA star Dennis Rodman's visit to Pyongyang, you might have double-checked whether the story was just another Onion parody.
Not only did the American basketball star -- known for his over-the-top publicity stunts -- visit North Korea, but he also was joined by three members of the famed Harlem Globetrotters, who played against North Korea's "Dream Team" (no surprise, the game ended in a tie). Rodman proclaimed Kim "a friend for life," and appeared courtside with the North Korean leader.
Not everyone was cheering this so-called "basketball diplomacy." A commentary in Canada's National Post outlined North Korea's "monstrous gulag system that Dennis Rodman will never see."
And CNN contributor John Avlon wrote that Rodman isn't the only "celebrity to be used for publicity purposes to prop up a dictator."
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2. Google executive urges country with barely any electricity to embrace the Internet
You've probably seen that NASA satellite photo of the Korean peninsula at night, the one that shows the northern half completely dark while the southern half and the Chinese coast are fully alight. Electricity is still a luxury in North Korea, where cold winds from nearby Siberia can plunge temperatures below freezing. But that didn't stop Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt from visiting North Korea in January as part of a delegation urging North Korea to "make it possible for people to use the Internet."
While many North Koreans might be more interested in having a heated home, Schmidt and his Google colleague Jared Cohen have advocated about the Internet's ability to empower citizens living under oppressive regimes.
3. Famous Americans apparently aren't the only ones heading to Pyongyang
In the wake of the Schmidt and Rodman visits, Bloomberg Businessweek looked at just how many Westerners are heading to North Korea for its closely monitored, government-run tours. Surprisingly, it found a nearly 20% increase in visits since 2011.
4. Get your North Korean education ... in Tokyo
The United States isn't the only outside country that has a love-hate relationship with North Korea. Until the end of World War II, Korea was a Japanese colony, and many Koreans were brought to Japan -- many against their will -- before Korea was divided between north and south. More recently, North Korea admitted to kidnapping Japanese citizens from Japanese soil in the 1970s and 1980s, something Tokyo has demanded more answers about.
Despite this tense history, Japan hosts a number of North Korean-funded schools -- complete with portraits of North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung and previous leader Kim Jong Il on its walls. Students, who are mostly Japanese, say they are learning Korean culture and language, and laugh off suggestions that they're training to be spies.
5. Dreaming of annihilating the United States, to the tune of 'We Are The World'
It's no secret that North Korea's propaganda images are bizarre, at least to the non-North Korean eye. If this doesn't make sense, just search Google Images for "North Korea propaganda." Yet one video released in the run-up to North Korea's nuclear test on Pyongyang's official website still managed to raise some eyebrows.
The video -- set to the tune of "We Are The World," the 1985 song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie heralding world peace -- shows a North Korean man dreaming about an apparent missile attack on the United States. "Black smoke was billowing somewhere in America," the caption in Korean reads.
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Kim Jong Un visits the Ministry of People's Security on Wednesday, May 1, as part of the country's May Day celebrations.
A North Korea soldier gestures to stop photographers from taking photos from a Chinese tour boat as other soldiers look on along the North Korean bank of the Yalu River near the town of Sinuiji across the Chinese city of Dandong in Liaoning province, China, on Saturday, April 6.
North Korean soldiers gather by the docks in Sinuiju near the Chinese border on Thursday, April 4.
North Korean soldiers patrol along the Yalu River in Sinuiju across the border from the Chinese city of Dandong on April 4.
Kim Jong Un is briefed by his generals in this undated photo. On the wall is a map titled "Plan for the strategic forces to target mainland U.S."
Kim Jong Un works during a briefing in this undated photo.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects drills by the Korean People's Army navy at an undisclosed location on North Korea's east coast on March 25 in a photo from the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Kim makes his way to an observation post with North Korean soldiers on March 25.
Kim uses a pair of binoculars to look south from the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island on March 7.
Kim is greeted by the family of a soldier as he inspects Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province on Thursday, March 7, in a photo from the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Kim is surrounded by soldiers during a visit to the Mu Islet Hero Defense Detachment near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island on March 7. North Korea has escalated its bellicose rhetoric, threatening nuclear strikes, just before the U.N. Security Council passed tougher sanctions against the secretive nation on March 7.
Kim arrives at Jangjae Islet by boat to meet with soldiers of the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment near Taeyonphyong Island in South Hwanghae province on March 7.
Soldiers in the North Korean army train at an undisclosed location on March 6.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, poses with chiefs of branch social security stations in this undated picture released by North Korea's official news agency on November 27.
Kim celebrates with staff from the satellite control center in Pyongyang, North Korea, during the launch of a rocket carrying a satellite, in a photo released by the official North Korean news agency on December 12.
A crowd watches as statues of the nation's founder, Kim Il Sung, and his son Kim Jong Il are unveiled during a ceremony in Pyongyang on April 13, 2012. Photos from North Korea are rare, but the country was on full display in April 2012 as it celebrated the 100th birthday of Kim Il Sung.
A North Korean soldier stands guard in front of an UNHA III rocket at the Tangachai-ri Space Center on April 8, 2012.
In April 2012, Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket, which broke apart and fell into the sea. The UNHA III rocket is pictured on its launch pad in Tang Chung Ri, North Korea.
A closer look at the UNHA III rocket on its launch pad in Tang Chung Ri, North Korea.
A military vehicle participates in a parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012.
North Koreans wave flags in front of portraits of Kim Il Sung, left, and his son Kim Jong Il during celebrations to mark the 100th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
North Korean soldiers relax at the end of an official ceremony attended by leader Kim Jong Un at a stadium in Pyongyang on April 14, 2012.
Kim Jong Un applauds as he watches a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012.
A North Korean soldier stands on a balcony in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
North Korean soldiers march during a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012.
Soldiers board a bus outside a theater in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
North Korean performers sit below a screen showing images of leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
North Korean soldiers salute during a military parade in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012.
Kim Jong Un visits the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground, which is under construction in Pyongyang, in a photo released on July 3, 2012, by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korean soldiers listen to a speech during an official ceremony attended by leader Kim Jong Un at a stadium in Pyongyang on April 14, 2012.
Members of a North Korean military band gather following an official ceremony at the Kim Il Sung stadium in Pyongyang on April 14, 2012.
North Korean military personnel watch a performance in Pyongyang on April 16, 2012.
A North Korean controller is seen along the railway line between Pyongyang and North Pyongan province on April 8, 2012.
A North Korean military honor guard stands at attention at Pyongyang's airport during a diplomatic visit on May 2, 2001.
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