When the Korean Meteorological Administration launched its proprietary weather forecasting framework in 2020, it placed Korea in an elite fraternity: one of just nine nations worldwide to build an independent, end-to-end global numerical prediction system. Now, Seoul is broadening its operational footprint into Southeast Asia and Oceania, crossing the equator to deliver real-time data to some of the most climate-vulnerable regions. The agency said Friday that it has officially broadened the operational reach of its signature system — the Korean Integrated Model, or KIM — to encompass 33 distinct meteorological data feeds across Southeast Asia and Oceania. The expansion brings granular, high-altitude wind and temperature intelligence to 117 cities across five island states: Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Brunei. The initiative aligns with the World Meteorological Organization’s Severe Weather Forecasting Program, a global effort designed to equip developing and archipelagic nations with advanced forecasting tools to anticipate extreme weather events before di