Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Two things missing in discussions of North Korea nuclear-missile programs and war threat

Two important topics are conspicuously missing from international media coverage of the North Korea nuclear and missile programs, and the threat of war on the Korean peninsula.  One is the impact that another war in Korea would likely have on the global ICT sector, given South Korea's dominant role in the global market for semiconductors (especially memory chips), displays (ranging from handphones, through tablets, to PCs and large screen television or outdoor displays) and smart phones.  Although there is much more to the story, a recent report by CNBC noted that South Korea is a "lynchpin" for all global tech. The second is the impending 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, located just south of the DMZ in Kangwon Province, the only province divided between North and South Korea.  I've posted frequently on this topic over the years (check out this search for "Pyeongchang" or use the "Search this blog" capability on the upper right hand side of this page)
Although they alone do not form the entire context for understanding what's going on in Korea, they definitely deserve more attention.

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