Former NBA star Dennis Rodman arrives in Singapore

(CBS News) — Former U.S. National Basketball Association star Dennis Rodman arrived in Singapore on Tuesday ahead of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying he was “happy to be here”.

There has been no indication Rodman would be involved in any official talks at the summit, which is aimed at getting North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and missiles in exchange for economic incentives and security guarantees.

Trump said last week that Rodman had not been invited to Singapore.

“It should go fairly well, but people should not expect so much,” Rodman told reporters at the airport on Tuesday.

Rodman is one of a handful of Westerners to have visited reclusive North Korea and met Kim. He most recently travelled there a year ago as a private citizen.

After that five-day visit, Rodman told reporters, “I’m just trying to open the door.”

Rodman has faced ridicule and criticism for his trips to North Korea, which some U.S. politicians and activists view as serving only as fodder for North Korean propaganda.

His earlier visits to North Korea included a basketball game he organised, an event chronicled in the documentary film “Big Bang in Pyongyang,” which featured Rodman singing “Happy Birthday” to Kim, as well as scenes of inebriated and erratic behaviour by the basketball Hall of Famer.