Memory chip production at risk as North Korea ramps up threats against South Korea, which produces 71% of global memory supply, 51% of NAND for SSDs

North Korea has signaled that it intends to tear up its decades-long constitutional commitment to pursue a peaceful unification with the South, reports the Associated Press, and it also stated it wouldn’t hesitate to “annihilate” the South if provoked. The ramping up of belligerent rhetoric occurs as the communist nation cooperates more closely with Russia and China, and South Korea cooperates with US sanctions and takes part in US military exercises. 

As such, concerns about the concentration of memory IC production in South Korea have started to grow. South Korea is the world's largest memory producer, with Samsung and Sk hynix combining to provide 73% of the global DRAM supply used for memory products and 51% of the NAND supply used for manufacturing SSDs. That raises serious concerns after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that his country will no longer pursue peaceful reconciliation. Kim called for a rewriting of the constitution to scrub away the principle of shared statehood, and declare the South as a permanent adversary.

During a meeting on Monday, at what AP News calls the North Korean ‘rubber stamp’ parliament, Kim abolished three government agencies that were set up to smooth a peaceful reunification process with the South. The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country (est.1961), the National Economic Cooperation Bureau, and the International Tourism Administration were all abolished.

Probably most alarmingly, Kim called on the North Korean Supreme People’s Assembly to change the constitution to define South Korea as the country’s “primary foe and invariable principal enemy.” AP News reports that Kim requested the new constitution specify that North Korea will endeavor in “occupying, subjugating and reclaiming” South Korea in the event of a war. Kim has also stated that North Korea wouldn’t hesitate to “annihilate” the South if provoked.

If it sounds like the Korean peninsula might be on the brink of war, it is worth considering other aspects of Kim’s speech, like where he reiterated that the North will not unilaterally start a war. Moreover, though talk of nuclear war rightfully fills observers with dread, the South has lived under this threat for many years, and it is a common totalitarian ploy to concentrate minds on the enemies beyond the borders. It could also be the case that an official reframing of foes might benefit internal dramas – giving the propaganda writers fresh material to work with.

Getting back to the memory chip topic, South Korea’s government has just revealed plans regarding investments of 622 trillion won ($471 billion) to 2047. The funding should help add 13 new chip fabs to the country’s 21 existing facilities, as well as fund three new R&D centers. Leading memory makers like Samsung and SK hynix are expected to be among the main beneficiaries. We hope that Kim Jong Un’s bellicose behavior is primarily for the internal audience, as suspected, leaving the industrious South to prosper as it has done for decades.