JAKARTA -- North Korea's isolation in the world continues to deepen as its influence in Southeast Asia wanes, with even long-term allies turning their backs against the reclusive nation.
Its pursuit of missile and nuclear development despite unanimous international condemnation is not the only reason Pyongyang is losing friends in the region. The bizarre assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's half-brother at the Kuala Lumpur airport in February has sorely depleted whatever goodwill people still had toward the country.
