PITTSBURGH - Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward held a press conference today announcing that he will visit his native Korea during the first week of April, where he will meet with North Korean President Kim Jong-il in an attempt to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Ward and President Jong-il will hold an autograph session at Dicks Sporting Goods in downtown Pyongyang on April 3rd from twelve noon until two o’clock. This is the first time a Super Bowl MVP has met with a head of state since Super Bowl I MVP Bart Starr traveled to Hanoi in 1968 for a series of talks with North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh seeking to end the Vietnam War.
Kim Jong-il, Supreme Commander of the Korean Peoples Army and General Secretary of the Workers Party of Korea, is the center of an extensive personality cult within North Korean society. He is regularly referred to as “a peerlessly great” leader by the North Korean media. According to Ward, that won’t be a barrier to discussions. “When it comes to living in a place that celebrates a cult of personality, Korea’s got nothing on Pittsburgh. To me, President Jong-il is just a despotic, paranoid, megalomaniacal Jerome Bettis. The only difference is that Jong-il has nuclear weapons.”
Ward says he hopes to use his status as "a beloved member" of the World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, "along with [his] radiant smile," to promote peace and stability in the region. Ward said his ultimate goal is to reunite both North and South Korea. He dismissed predictions that the chance of this happening during his visit are slim. "Nobody gave us a chance against Indianapolis, either.”
