In China, a sense of betrayal after the assassination of Kim Jong Nam

Then, this happened: a reminder, according to Marcus Noland and Stephan Haggard at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, of the regime’s true nature: “a cruel and ultimately capricious dictatorship that cannot be trusted on anything.”

While the official Communist Party mouthpieces, the People’s Daily newspaper and Xinhua news agency, have confined themselves to bland news reports on the incident, the nationalist Global Times tabloid, given a freer rein, has been more forthright, reflecting views shared by some officials and ordinary citizens.

Speculation sharply points at Pyongyang’s hand in the murder, in-house commentator Shan Renping wrote on Thursday: If that’s confirmed, China would join the international community in condemning it.

“Regardless of how intense a country’s political struggle might be, there is no doubt that it should never rely on assassination methods as means for its advancement,” he wrote. “Human civilization is now in the 21st century, and such a savage and outdated political device should be cast into the museums of history.”