Why is China keeping mum about Kim Jong Nam’s murder?

Kim Jong Nam, left, half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, in Narita, Japan, on May 4, 2001, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on May 9, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Source: AP Photos/Shizuo Kambayashi, Wong Maye-E BEIJING’s terse response last week that China has been closely monitoring developments in the Cold War-style assassination of Kim Jong-un’ estranged half brother will likely be the extent of its response to the matter.

Slain brother was complicated part of North Korean dynasty

FILE – This combination of file photos shows Kim Jong Nam, left, exiled half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, in Narita, Japan, on May 4, 2001, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on May 9, … SEOUL, South Korea – A failed attempt to sneak into Japan to visit Disneyland in 2001 may have doomed the leadership dreams of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un’s elder brother, who was assassinated this week in an airport in Malaysia. Banished from his father’s favor, Kim Jong Nam frequented casinos and five-star hotels and traveled around Asia, with little say in North Korean affairs.