Korean Peninsula Research Articles

Assessing paddy methane emissions through the identification of rice and winter crop areas using Sentinel-2 imagery in Korea

AbstractThe global efforts on reducing methane (CH4) emissions was emphasized in COP 28 and the potential for improved estimation became feasible through bottom-up data acquisition with advanced remote sensing technology. The objectives of this study were to extract summer rice and winter crop cultivation areas based on satellite images and to incorporate into estimating CH4 emissions in South Korea for the year 2020. Satellite images of Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 were acquired from European Space Agency. Rice paddy was classified with backscattering coefficient from Sentinel-1 images, while the normalized difference vegetation index from Sentinel-2 images was used to identify winter cropping field. The equation of IPCC guidelines was used to estimate CH4 emissions by incorporating the areas of rice paddy and winter crop extracted with the respective satellite image. National farming statistics were used to determine the scaling factors for paddy organic matter and water management practices. The estimated areas for rice paddy and winter crop cultivation were 712,237 ha and 117,840 ha, respectively. The rice paddy areas were primarily concentrated in the western regions of the Korean peninsula, whereas winter crop cultivation was predominantly found in southern part of the country. The total amount of CH4 emissions was 6272 Gg CO2 eq./yr when considering rice straw and winter cropping practices into estimation (modified Tier 2 method). This represents a 7% increase compared to the method that considered solely the rice straw incorporation (current Tier 2 method). The CH4 emissions per unit area were also 8.82 tons CO2 eq./ha/yr with the modified Tier 2 method, indicating a 10% greater compared to the current Tier 2 method. Substantial CH4 emissions were primarily concentrated in western regions where extensive rice paddy cultivation occurs, while greater CH4 emissions per unit area were predominantly found in southern regions with substantial winter crop cultivation. The study findings hold importance for improving the accuracy of CH4 emissions estimation by employing bottom-up approach that utilizes satellite imagery to assess rice paddy and winter cropping areas. Further study would be needed to incorporate field-based data on rice crop management practices, such as rice straw and water management, to further refine CH4 emission estimation method.

Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Observed Extreme Precipitation Change Over Northern Part of the Korean Peninsula

AbstractThe present study aims to detect the variation of precipitation extreme events in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula during 1961–2020, as well as to investigate its possible causes, based on daily precipitation data from 37 representative stations. Nonparametric tests such as Mann‐Kendall and Kendall‐tau were used to detect statistical characteristics of changes in precipitation indices and climate variables. Findings are as follows: (a) the annual total precipitation manifested a clear shifting point in 1968, with a decreasing rate of about −37.7 mm/decade, conversely, daily precipitation intensity had a clear upward trend, and extreme precipitation events above 100 mm/day became more frequent. (b) There occurred significant upward trends of 8.9 mm/decade for intense rainfall (>95th percentile) and 6.3 mm/decade for extreme intense rainfall (>99th percentile). (c) The continuous wet (dry) days showed a decreasing (increasing) trend of about −0.2 days/decade (1.0 days/decade). The decrease rate of 5‐day max precipitation is five times as large as 1‐day max precipitation. (d) For June‐September, the strengthened West Pacific Subtropical High intensity and the variation of its ridge‐axis position, the southerly shift of the upper subtropical Jetstream and the weakening of lower moisture supplement may have suppressed the northerly move of the summer rain band and delayed the development of rainy season over the study area. (e) In view of the urbanization effect, the possible causes of the precipitation externalization were investigated, and it was found that the upward trends in daily precipitation intensity and 95th percentile intense precipitation in big cities are generally higher than rural regions.

A Systematic Review of the Application of the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager to the Water Quality Monitoring of Inland and Coastal Waters

In recent decades, eutrophication in inland and coastal waters (ICWs) has increased due to anthropogenic activities and global warming, thus requiring timely monitoring. Compared with traditional sampling and laboratory analysis methods, satellite remote sensing technology can provide macro-scale, low-cost, and near real-time water quality monitoring services. The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI), aboard the Communication Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) from the Republic of Korea, marked a significant milestone as the world’s inaugural geostationary ocean color observation satellite. Its operational tenure spanned from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2021. Over ten years, the GOCI has observed oceans, coastal waters, and inland waters within its 2500 km × 2500 km target area centered on the Korean Peninsula. The most attractive feature of the GOCI, compared with other commonly used water color sensors, was its high temporal resolution (1 h, eight times daily from 0 UTC to 7 UTC), providing an opportunity to monitor ICWs, where their water quality can undergo significant changes within a day. This study aims to comprehensively review GOCI features and applications in ICWs, analyzing progress in atmospheric correction algorithms and water quality monitoring. Analyzing 123 articles from the Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) through a bibliometric quantitative approach, we examined the GOCI’s strength and performance with different processing methods. These articles reveal that the GOCI played an essential role in monitoring the ecological health of ICWs in its observation coverage (2500 km × 2500 km) in East Asia. The GOCI has led the way to a new era of geostationary ocean satellites, providing new technical means for monitoring water quality in oceans, coastal zones, and inland lakes. We also discuss the challenges encountered by Geostationary Ocean Color Sensors in monitoring water quality and provide suggestions for future Geostationary Ocean Color Sensors to better monitor the ICWs.

Two-pathway spatiotemporal representation learning for extreme water temperature prediction

Accurate predictions of extreme water temperatures are criticalto understanding the variability of the marine environment and reducing marine disasters maximized by global warming. In this study, we propose a two-pathway framework with separated spatial and temporal encoders for accurate prediction of water temperature, especially extremely high water temperature, through effective spatiotemporal representation learning. The spatial and temporal encoder networks based on the Transformer’s self-attention mechanism performs the task of predicting the water temperature time series at the 16 coastal locations around the Korean Peninsula for the seven consecutive days ahead at daily intervals with various combinations of patch embedding methods, positional embedding for for spatial features. Comparative experiments with conventional deep convolutional and recurrent networks are also conducted for comparison. By comparing and assessing these results, the proposed two-pathway framework can improve the predictability of extremely high coastal water temperature by better capturing spatiotemporal interrelationships and long-range dependencies from open ocean and regional sea, and further determines the optimal architectural details of self-attention-based spatial and temporal encoders. Furthermore, to examine the explainability of the proposed model and its consistency with domain knowledge, spatial and temporal attention maps are visualized and analyzed that represents weights for spatiotemporal input sequences that are more relevant to predict for future predictions.

The Predictability of a Heavy Rainfall Event during the Summer of 2022 Using an All-sky Radiance Assimilation Experiment

AbstractThis paper presents the results of the recent development of the all-sky radiance assimilation system in the Korean Integrated Model (KIM). In the cycled analysis and forecast experiments, the increased coverage of radiance data in cloudy regions improved the quality of initial fields for mass variables, temperature and humidity. The experimental period covered the record-breaking heavy rainfall event on August 9, 2022. We examined the simulation accuracy of the western North Pacific subtropical high (WNPSH) in both clear- and all-sky experiments. In the clear-sky experiment, northward propagation of the WNPSH was restricted. A humid bias exists with clear-sky radiance assimilation over the WNPSH region. Since humid air is lighter than dry air, in this situation, the geopotential height (GPH) should be lower to achieve the same pressure, and a low-pressure bias occurs. All-sky radiance assimilation dries the moisture field, which helps elevate the GPH over the WNPSH region. The expansion of the WNPSH yielded a steeper confrontation in the air between the land and ocean around the southeastern sea of the Korean Peninsula to predict the strength of rainfall events more accurately. A more accurate simulation of the jet stream outlet was also demonstrated in an all-sky experiment. This study shows that the all-sky radiance assimilation can help to more accurately predict extreme rainfall events via proper simulations of large-scale fields.

Excatenation of the crisis on the Korean peninsula and possible ways to overcome it

Excatenation of the crisis on the Korean peninsula and possible ways to overcome it

Evaluation of water shortage and instream flows of shared rivers in South Korea according to the dam operations in North Korea

Abstract The Korean Peninsula's mountainous terrain poses challenges to effective water resource management. Notably, two significant river basins, North Han River and Imjin River basins, are essentially shared rivers originating in North Korea. After the construction of various dams in North Korea, billions of tons per year of water annually decreased from the upper reaches of these rivers of North Korea to South Korea. This study conducted an impact analysis on two major river basins affected by dam operations in North Korea. Both before and after the Imnam Dam operation, significant reduction (27.7%) in the average monthly inflow was observed, and the total release of the Hwacheon Dam in South Korea decreased by 40.2%. The analysis of instream flow indicated that the operation of dams in North Korea had a substantial impact on fulfilling instream flow requirements for dams located in North Han River and Imjin River basins. To ensure instream flow, this study proposed two plans. The first plan involved the utilization of existing dams in the North Han River basin, while the second plan suggested connecting the dams in North Korea, taking into account the shared rivers.

Population Structure Using Mitochondrial DNA for the Conservation of Liobagrus geumgangensis (Siluriformes: Amblycipitidae), an Endemic Freshwater Fish in Korea

Liobagrus geumgangensis is a novel Korean fish species endemic to the Geumgang and Mangyeonggang River basins on the Korean Peninsula. During a survey of L. geumgangensis, the discovery of Liobagrus mediadiposalis as a potential threat prompted an investigation into L. geumgangensis genetic diversity and structure. Three populations of L. geumagangensis and one population of L. mediadiposalis were investigated using a 1024-bp sequence in the cytb region of mitochondrial DNA. The Mangyeonggang River of L. geumagangensis displayed the lowest haplotype diversity (Hd) within a range of 0.000–0.337, with one to two haplotypes (h). The Jecheon region of the Geumgang River for L. geumagangensis population had the highest nucleotide diversity (π) and was within the range of 0.00000–0.00066. The h of L. mediadiposalis population was 3, the range of Hd was 0.292, and π was 0.00231. Tajima’s D (D) and Fu’s Fs (F) were negative and non-significant in the LgGJ population. The genetic structure of L. geumgangensis had no shared haplotypes among the three populations. The discovery of L. mediadiposalis in the Geumgang River suggests the necessity of non-habitat conservation and population management of fish farms to conserve L. geumgangensis.

New Pterosaur Tracks from the Hwasun Seoyuri Tracksite (Turonian) of South Korea: Implications for their Ecological Niche and Habitat

Pterosaurs are powered flight vertebrates that first emerged in the Late Triassic and persisted until the end of the Cretaceous. Recent studies on the ecological niches and habitats of pterosaurs, based on discoveries of Cretaceous bone beds in China, Brazil, Morocco, and other locations, suggest a decline in pterosaur diversity during the mid-Cretaceous. Various hypotheses have been proposed to interpret this phenomenon. This study focuses on newly discovered pterosaur tracks at the Upper Cretaceous (Truonian) Hwasun Seoyuri tracksite in Korea. The analysis is based on pterosaur tracks from in situ and ex situ specimens that originate from a variety of stratigraphic levels. The evidence found suggests that the Hwasun Seoyuri tracksite was occupied by small pterosaurs over an extended period, with indications of recurrent activity across at least six levels. Furthermore, the footprint sizes observed across these multiple layers follow a non-skewed normal distribution. Considering the known logarithmic growth characteristics of pterosaurs, this result suggests a predominantly immature population at this site. The prevalence of mid-Cretaceous non-marine pterosaur tracksites on the Korean Peninsula may reflect broader ecological shifts for pterosaurs during this period. This evidence is considered alongside the habitat shifts suggested by other non-marine pterosaur fossil sites in China and Brazil, as well as with indications of the decline in Late Cretaceous non-marine basins.

Kinematic and Dynamic Structure of the 18 May 2020 Squall Line over South Korea

The diagonal squall line that passed through the Korean Peninsula on the 18 May 2020 was examined using wind data retrieved from multiple Doppler radar synthesis focusing on its kinematic and dynamic aspects. The low-level jet, along with warm and moist air in the lower level, served as the primary source of moisture supply during the initiation and formation process. The presence of a cold pool accompanying the squall line played a role in retaining moisture at the surface. As the squall line approached the Korean Peninsula, the convective bands in the northern segment (NS) and southern segment (SS) of the squall line exhibited distinct evolutionary patterns. The vertical wind shear in the NS area was more pronounced compared to that in the SS. The ascending inflow associated with the tilted updraft in the NS reached an altitude of 7 km, whereas it was only up to 4 km in the SS. The difference was caused by the strong descending rear flow, which obstructed the ascending inflow and let to significant updraft in the SS.

Summer climate information recorded in tree-ring oxygen isotope chronologies from seven locations in the Republic of Korea

The Republic of Korea is characterized by its north-to-south stretch and high mountain ranges along the eastern coast, resulting in terrain with higher elevation in the east and lower in the west. These geographical features typically lead to regional climate differences, either based on latitude or from east to west. In the present study, for effectiveness, the entire Korean peninsula was divided into four regions based on the geographical features: The Northeast Coast (NEC), Central Inland (MI), Southeast Coast (SEC), and South Coast (SC). Two test sites were chosen from each region, except for the SC. The linear relationship between the altitude of sites and the mean oxygen isotope ratio (δ18O) revealed a negative correlation; the highest (1,447 m a.s.l.) and the lowest altitude (86 m a.s.l.) sites had a mean δ18O of 27.03‰ and 29.67‰, respectively. The sites selected from the same region exhibited stronger correlation coefficients (0.75–0.79) and Glk (Gleichläufigkeit) (74–83%) between the tree-ring oxygen isotope chronologies (δ18OTR chronologies) than those from different regions (0.60–0.69/70–79%). However, subtle variations in pattern were observed in the comparison period during a few selected intervals (approximately 10 years). All the regional δ18OTR chronologies exhibited positive correlations with either June or July temperatures over Korea, whereas negative correlations with regional summer precipitation and SPEI-3. Moreover, the chronologies showed notable negative correlations with the water condition of western Japan. The findings of this study can be used as a scientific reference for the study of variations of rainfall in East Asia using δ18OTR chronology.

AIDER: Aircraft Icing Potential Area DEtection in Real-Time Using 3-Dimensional Radar and Atmospheric Variables

Aircraft icing refers to the accumulation of ice on the surface and components of an aircraft when supercooled water droplets collide with the aircraft above freezing levels (at altitudes at which the temperature is below 0 °C), which requires vigilant monitoring to avert aviation accidents attributable to icing. In response to this imperative, the Weather Radar Center (WRC) of the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) has developed a real-time icing detection algorithm. We utilized 3D dual-polarimetric radar variables, 3D atmospheric variables, and aircraft icing data and statistically analyzed these variables within the icing areas determined by aircraft icing data from 2018–2022. An algorithm capable of detecting icing potential areas (icing potential) was formulated by applying these characteristics. Employing this detection algorithm enabled the classification of icing potential into three stages: precipitation, icing caution, and icing warning. The algorithm was validated, demonstrating a notable performance with a probability of detection value of 0.88. The algorithm was applied to three distinct icing cases under varying environmental conditions—frontal, stratiform, and cumuliform clouds—thereby offering real-time observable icing potential across the entire Korean Peninsula.

A literature review to explore the use of Contact Theory, in exploring integration strategies between students who have defected from North Korea and South Korean students

Objectives The purpose of this research was to explore effective integrated strategies utilizing Contact Theory principles, to reduce prejudice and discrimination and build friendships between North and South Korean students.
 Methods A literature review synthesizing the findings of literature retrieved from searches for integration between North and South Korean students. Especially, Contact Theory was particularly used for the theoretical framework.
 Results Intergroup cooperation: Repeated integrated strategies and high-quality contact strategies should be applied in school curriculums to build friendships based on intergroup cooperative tasks such as discussion or presentations about each other’s culture, and societal issues between the two Koreas’ students. Common goals: Both students groups should discuss and debate the common goal of peace within the Korean Peninsula by allowing students to consider the advantages and disadvantages of inter-Korean unification on their own. Equal status: Schools should provide some programmes via literature or films related to North Korean words which are neglected by South Koreans who will need to change their perception by developing a more objective view of North Korean culture and their way of thinking that can ultimately bring equal status between the two Korean student groups. Support of institutions: The support of authorities of the Korean government is suggested. Especially, the government will need to provide more effective teacher education for integrated education between two Korean students to prepare for future reunification.
 Conclusions The implications and limitation of the study is provided. Suggestions for future studies are also presented.

Retrospective Study of the Prevalence and Associated Factors of Gallbladder Polyps among Residents of Two Korean Cities.

Background/Aims: Well-known risk factors for gallbladder polyps include metabolic syndrome, age, and dyslipidemia. Jeju Island is approximately 80 km from the Korean peninsula and is divided into two administrative regions (Jeju City and Seogwipo City), with Mount Halla intervening in the center. Jeju City has higher employment and birth rates than Seogwipo City. Age and alcohol consumption differ between the two regions, and these factors may affect the prevalence of gallbladder polyps (GBPs). Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of GBPs and compared various factors, including alcohol consumption habits and age, associated with GBPs among residents in the two regions. Methods: This study included 21,734 residents who visited the Health Screening and Promotion Center of Jeju National University Hospital between January 2009 and December 2019. We investigated the prevalence and associated factors of GBPs among residents of Jeju City and Seogwipo City. Results: The prevalence of GBPs in Jeju City and Seogwipo City was 9.8% and 8.9% (p = 0.043), respectively. The mean age and rate of high-risk alcohol intake were higher in Seogwipo City. The mean body mass index and levels of fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and alkaline phosphatase were lower in Jeju City. Conclusions: This study demonstrated a significant difference in GBP prevalence between the two regions of Jeju Island. Age and alcohol consumption might contribute to this difference; however, further prospective cohort studies are warranted to confirm our findings.

Significant role of physical transport in the marine carbon monoxide (CO) cycle: observations in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), the western North Pacific, and the Bering Sea in summer

Abstract. The carbon monoxide (CO) in the marine boundary layer and in the surface waters and water column were measured along the western limb of the North Pacific from the Korean Peninsula to Alaska, USA, in summer 2012. The observation allows us to estimate the CO budgets in the surface mixed layer of the three distinct regimes: the East Sea (Sea of Japan) (ES), the Northwest Pacific (NP), and the Bering Sea (BS). CO photochemical production rates were 56(±15) µmol m−2 d−1, 27(±3) µmol m−2 d−1, and 26(±2) µmol m−2 d−1, while microbial consumption rates were 30(±8) µmol m−2 d−1, 24(±5) µmol m−2 d−1, and 63(±19) µmol m−2 d−1 in the ES, NP, and BS, respectively, both of which are the dominant components of the CO budget in the ocean. The other two known components, air–sea gas exchange and downward mixing, remained negligible (less than 3 µmol m−2 d−1) in all regimes. While the CO budget in the surface mixed layer of the NP was in balance, the CO production surpassed the consumption in the ES, and vice versa in the BS. The significant imbalances in the CO budget in the ES (25 ± 17 µmol m−2 d−1) and the BS (40 ± 19 µmol m−2 d−1) are suggested to be compensated by external physical transport such as lateral advection, subduction, or ventilation. Notably, the increase in the CO column burden correlated with the imbalance in the CO budget, highlighting the significant role of the physical transport in the marine CO cycles. Our observation, for the first time, underscores the potential importance of physical transport in driving CO dynamics in the marine environment.

How fear of entrapment shapes South Korean public opinion on conflicts with North Korea under US extended deterrence

ABSTRACT The nuclear crises in 1994 and 2017 between the United States and North Korea introduced South Korea to the fear of becoming entrapped in unwanted wars on the Korean Peninsula. To understand how the fear of entrapment shapes a client state’s strategic judgments toward the use of force by a patron state under extended deterrence, we designed novel experiments on pre- and post-strike approval of military operations by combining war-game scenarios and survey experiments. In the pre-strike-approval experiment, we examined how the decision-making mechanism for military planning and operations, the type of weapon systems, and the expected casualties shape South Korean public opinion on the use of US military strikes against North Korea. In the post-strike-approval experiment, we provided South Koreans with outcomes of military strikes and examined how US unilateral military strikes against North Korea would change public attitudes toward the US–South Korea alliance. We found that the fear of US unilateral use of force and consequent entrapment in unwanted wars substantially decreased South Korean public approval of the military strikes against North Korea. We also found that US unilateral military strikes against North Korea, regardless of their success or failure, would severely harm the US–South Korea alliance.

Circular genetic structure of the Abies nephrolepis species complex shaped by the circular landform of Northeast Asia

AbstractAimPinaceae have been noted for their tendency towards reticulation as a result of interspecific hybridization. Here, we demonstrated the phylogeographic dynamics of the native Northeast Asian sub‐alpine conifer, Abies nephrolepis species complex (ANSC), evolving in circular overlaps along the Northeast Asian landform, which functions as a corridor with the sea, thus acting as a geographic barrier.LocationNortheast Asia: the Korean Peninsula, Japanese Archipelago, Russian Far East and northeastern China.TaxonAbies nephrolepis species complex (Family Pinaceae, Genus Abies, Section Balsamea, Abies nephrolepis, A. koreana, A. veitchii and A. sachalinensis).MethodsA total of 728 individuals from 38 ANSC populations were analysed using multiplexed inter‐simple sequence repeat genotyping by sequencing to capture variations in biparental nuclear genomes. Eight mitochondrial regions and eight chloroplast regions of each individual were sequenced using the MiSeq platform and Sanger sequencing. Species distribution models were generated.ResultsBayesian clustering with 507 nuclear single nucleotide polymorphisms and the discrepancy between cytoplasmic and nuclear genome lineages implied contemporary and ancient connections between neighbouring species in the form of circular overlap. This genetic connectivity was supported by principal component analysis. Strong correlations between genetic distance and geographic distance were observed, suggesting that gene flow occurs through a continuous chain around the sea. We also found that gene flow direction and intensity changed over time, with support from palaeodistribution modelling.ConclusionPast hybridization events were captured in cytoplasmic genomes, generating heterogeneity across maternal ancestries. This intensive phylogeographic study demonstrates speciation with incomplete reproductive isolation (continuous gene flow) among neighbouring species with an alteration of the direction and intensity of gene flow due to climate change. The divergence of ANSC due to repeated isolation and reconnection caused by heterogenous physiological environments and climate fluctuation provides a model to solve evolutionary scenarios for reticulate evolution in Pinaceae and other plants.

Wasabi Gone Wild? Origin and Characterization of the Complete Plastomes of Ulleung Island Wasabi (Eutrema japonicum; Brassicaceae) and Other Cultivars in Korea.

Korean wasabi occurs naturally on the young oceanic, volcanic Ulleung Island off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula. Although the Ulleung Island wasabi is reported as Eutrema japonicum and has been suggested to be morphologically identical to cultivars in Korea, very little is known about its taxonomic identity and relationship with other cultivars. In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast DNA sequences of three naturally occurring Ulleung Island wasabi plants and six cultivars ('Daewang', 'Daruma', 'Micado', 'Orochi', 'Green Thumb', and 'Shogun') from continental Korea and determined the taxonomic identity of Korean wasabi on Ulleung Island. The size and organization of the complete chloroplast genomes of the nine accessions were nearly identical to those of previously reported wasabi cultivars. In addition, phylogenetic analysis based on the complete plastomes suggested that Ulleung Island wasabi most likely comprises various wasabi cultivars with three chlorotypes ('Shogun', 'Green Thumb', and a unique Chusan type). Based on the complete plastomes, we identified eight chlorotypes for the major wasabi cultivars and the Ulleung Island wasabi. Two major groups (1-'Mazuma' and 'Daruma', and 2-'Fujidaruma'/'Shimane No. 3'/Ulleung Island wasabi/five cultivars in Korea) were also identified based on mother line genealogical history. Furthermore, different types of variations (mutations, insertions/deletions (indels), mononucleotide repeats, and inversions) in plastomes were identified to distinguish different cultivar lines and five highly divergent hotspots. The nine newly obtained complete plastomes are valuable organelle genomic resources for species identification and infraspecific phylogeographic studies on wild and cultivated wasabi.

Does a Scale‐Aware Convective Parameterization Scheme Improve the Simulation of Heavy Rainfall Events?

AbstractPrecipitation predictability using the non‐scale‐aware and scale‐aware convective parameterization schemes (CPSs) was investigated to assess the necessity of the CPSs within the gray‐zone. This study evaluates the performance of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model's CPS for 135 heavy rainfall events (HREs) over the Korean Peninsula for 10 years (i.e., 2011–2020). We tested the Kain–Fritsch (KF) scheme (non‐scale‐aware) and Multi‐scale Kain–Fritsch (MSKF) scheme (scale‐aware) in the WRF model. The MSKF scheme shows an overall improved performance of precipitation simulation compared to the KF scheme, but the precipitation forecast performance of CPS depends on the characteristics of HREs. When the HREs are characterized by synoptic‐scale atmospheric conditions with strong winds and large‐scale water vapor transport, the forecast performance of both CPSs is similar because a cloud microphysics scheme can explicitly resolve most of the precipitation. However, in the case of HREs with weak synoptic forcing conditions (e.g., moisture transport and winds) related to the localized and meso‐scale HREs, the MSKF scheme can improve overall simulated precipitation by increasing grid‐scale precipitation and reducing the overestimation of subgrid‐scale precipitation simulated in the KF scheme. Therefore, using the scale‐aware CPS in the gray‐zone can provide more accurate precipitation forecasts regardless of the environmental condition of the HREs.

MINI-MULTILATERALISM IN NORTHEAST ASIA: IMPLICATIONS FROM EUROPE AND ITS ROLE IN RESOLVING KOREAN PENINSULA ISSUES

Northeast Asian nations, including the critical historical fulcrum of the Korean Peninsula, must prioritize regional cooperation and trust-building to achieve their maximum regional and global potential. Through the study of four stages of regional growth, a roadmap towards integration that's contextualized within the unique socio-political dynamics of Northeast Asia is provided. Mini-multilateralism has historical relevance for the Korean Peninsula whose complexities and sensibilities arising from the peninsula's divided past underscore the need for a strategy that supports smaller, more focused multilateral engagements. These engagements could provide a platform for resolving ongoing tensions while fostering regional cooperation, ultimately contributing to the construction of a secure Northeast Asia. The examination of historical incidents, particularly those related to the Korean Peninsula, shows the immense potential of mini-multilateralism as a strategy for advancing regional stability, building trust, and promoting cooperation. As such, the implications drawn from European experiences serve as lessons for Northeast Asia and particularly for resolving issues related to Korean history and its future.