A CANADIAN businessman who introduced Kim Jong-un to Dennis Rodman has been jailed today for spying in China.

       Michael Spavor has been detained since 2018, after being arrested with fellow Canadian ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig, in what critics have dubbed "hostage diplomacy".

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       Michael Spavor has been jailed for spying in China Credit: Reuters 5

       Michael Spavor in North Korea with Dennis Rodman whom he introduced to Kim Jong-un in 2013 Credit: Refer to Caption 5

       When Kim met Den.... the pair cemented their friendship an exhibition basketball game at an arena in Pyongyang Credit: AP:Associated Press

       Businessman Spavor had been based in the northern Chinese city of Dandong where he ran cultural exchanges with North Korea.

       During this time he helped foster the unlikely bromance between Kim and Rodman.

       Spavor was sentenced to 11 years in prison today after being convicted "for the crime of spying and illegal provision of state secrets abroad".

       The details of the spy allegations are unclear.

       China has been accused of treating both Spavor and Kovrig as political bargaining chips which critics have dubbed "hostage diplomacy".

       Beijing wants to stop Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou from being deported from Canada to the US on fraud charges.

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       Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the conviction was "absolutely unacceptable and unjust".

       Spavor was one of only a handful of people to be regularly invited into North Korea, and had front row seats to the tyrant’s treasured military parades.

       But Spavor was also the man who introduced former NBA player Rodman to Kim in 2013.

       The basketball legend, 60, struck up an unlikely bond with the ruthless dictator, 38, which before long blossomed.

       Rodman, who won five championships with the Chicago Bulls and the Detroit Pistons, described Kim as a "great dad" and an "awesome guy".

       The two immediately bonded over their shared passion for basketball.

       ROD & KIM'S WILD PARTYING

       And when it was time to go, the North Korean leader invited him back to his lair for a wild night partying — Kim-Jong-un style.

       Kim told Rodman: "Let's have dinner tonight, a little karaoke and have some vodka, some hotties' and stuff like that".

       Speaking on Mike Tyson’s podcast, Rodman said: “Next thing I know, we are having dinner and we are drunk as s***, he starts singing karaoke and I have no clue what the f*** he's talking about.

       "Everyone starts clapping and then he has this 18-piece girl band come out and these girls are hot but they just played one song.

       "Just one f***ing song. It was the theme from Dallas."

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       The pair instantly hit it off Credit: Reuters

       The man who made it happen... Michael Spavor, a Canadian 'friend' of Kim Jong-un is now behind bars

       Canadian Michael Spavor who introduced Kim Jong-un to Dennis Rodman missing in China amid fears he has been arrested