As former NBA star Dennis Rodman left Beijing on Thursday for his third trip to Pyongyang, North Korea experts expressed mixed views about the appropriateness of his visit so soon after the execution of Kim Jong Un’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek.

Although Rodman used a meeting with reporters at Beijing airport as an opportunity to distance himself from recent political turbulence in North Korea, some observers suggested that the former NBA star should have delayed his “sports diplomacy” trip following the execution of Jang Song Thaek last Friday.

“Sports diplomacy seems the wrong file to put this junket in. I