Te'o reveals North Korea backpacking plan

Former NRL star Ben Te'o has grabbed attention in Britain by disclosing a plan to go backpacking in North Korea with England rugby teammate Johnny May.

Te'o has been discussing the regime of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with madcap winger May, and the pair have decided to embark on a visit to the country.

"Me and Jonny have been watching a lot of documentaries on North Korea. That's what he's quite interested in. We chat a lot about that," code hopper Te'o told reporters ahead of England's Six Nations clash with Wales at the weekend.

"I sent him a few links on some documentaries that I thought he might be interested in.

"We've had quite a few chats and coffees about how we can fix the situation there. There's a lot that needs to be done.

"Jonny wants to do a backpacking trip. He said: 'We need to go before things get really bad'.

"I said 'I don't know if it's worth it, it's quite dangerous' but he said 'I'm pretty keen on it.' Maybe we'll be reporting to you live from North Korea in the summer. - Ben Te'o

"Jonny is interesting. I like being around him. I like talking to him about what he gets up to and what he's thinking."

May has emerged as one of the England squad's comedy characters, described by Tom Youngs as a "space cadet with X-factor" while coach Eddie Jones has said he would like to spend a day inside the Gloucester wing's head.

"A different character" is how May views himself, adding "I'm a thoughtful person. I'm deep in thought and people probably wonder 'is he thinking about a lot or not a lot?"