After spending two years as a prisoner in North Korea, American Kenneth Bae returned to United States soil over the weekend. NBA Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman says he played a crucial role in helping to get Bae back home.

Rodman tells TMZ that he sent a letter to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, pleading to let Bae return back home to the U.S. safely.

"I understand the crimes [Bae] committed, and ask you my dear friend, the highly respected Marshall Kim Jong-un for his release to show my country how loving and compassionate you and the DPRK can be,” Rodman wrote in the letter, as reported by TMZ.

"I ask for your mercy to prisoner Kenneth Bae and would be eternally grateful for his safe return and make a big step towards bridging the gap between our two nations,” he continued in the letter.

If one remembers, Rodman was a special guest of Kim Jong-un and made a few trips to North Korea, even holding a charity basketball game with some of his former NBA peers in North Korea this past January.

"No doubt, our trips helped influence Kenneth Bae's release and I'm happy he is coming home safely," Rodman told the celebrity news website.

The North Korean leader ordered the release of imprisoned Americans Bae and Todd Miller over the weekend. Bae, a 46-year-old Christian missionary, was accused of conspiracy against the North Korean government through religious activities and had been detained since late 2012. Miller, 25, was accused of seeking asylum after allegedly ripping his tourist visa apart upon entry to North Korea and had been detained since April. 

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(Photo: REUTERS/KCNA)