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Apparent North Korean nuke test a sobering reminder |
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Oct 09, 2006 at 09:58 AM |
Waking up today, the Chip Shots blog relaunch day, to the news that North Korea may have tested a nuclear device offers a stark and sobering reminder that geopolitics can have a profound impact on the semiconductor and microelectronics industries.
Major South Korean microelectronics firms such as Samsung and Hynix have many facilities within striking distance of North Korea's considerable conventional military and now apparently nuclear capabilities.
Japan (especially the south, which has a high concentration of fabs and related sites) is also within range of the North's missiles, even if that missile technology is not robust and their ability to fashion a nuclear warhead even less so.
When you think about the unthinkable, even the rosiest industry outlooks, most gee-whiz-inducing technological breakthroughs, and "important" trends in the semiconductor and micro/nanoelectronics industries just pale in comparison.
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