[Anchor]

Before the scars left by torrential rains have even had time to heal, the 18th typhoon of the season, Soudelor, is moving northward while gathering strength. While current forecasts predominantly suggest it will make landfall in China, its path remains fluid, requiring close monitoring to see if it will affect South Korea.

Reporter Jeong Gu-hui has the details.

[Reporter]

Typhoon Soudelor, which formed far out in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday (the 19th), is currently passing over waters northeast of Guam.

It is currently a Category 2 typhoon on the five-tier intensity scale, with satellite imagery capturing the formation of its characteristic swirling structure.

In two days, it is expected to grow stronger, developing into a very strong Category 4 typhoon.

South Korea's Meteorological Administration has forecasted that the typhoon will move northwest and reach Okinawa, Japan, by next Wednesday.

Japan shares a similar forecast. Both countries currently issue official typhoon forecasts only up to five days in advance.

Its path beyond five days remains fluid.

The European forecasting model, evaluated as having the highest accuracy and which precisely predicted the trajectory of the previous 13th typhoon 'Dolphin', projects that Typhoon Soudelor will head further south toward Taiwan before making landfall in southern China.

Meanwhile, the prediction model from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) forecasts a more northward path passing as far as Kyushu, Japan, projecting that the typhoon will reverse its direction off the coast of Kyushu and head toward the Chinese mainland.

Although the two models project different paths, both point to China as the typhoon's ultimate destination.

South Korea is currently situated along the edge of the North Pacific high-pressure system.

[Song Ji-ae / Forecast Analyst, Korea Meteorological Administration : On Saturday morning, rain cloud bands will flow in along the edge of the North Pacific high-pressure system, bringing rain primarily centered around the central regions.]

As this North Pacific high-pressure system blocks the typhoon—much like it did with the previous typhoon Dolphin—current forecasts indicate Soudelor will head toward China. However, because path predictions vary among models, the situation must be monitored closely until early next week.

(Video editing: Kim Byung-jik, Design: Kang Yun-jung, Park Tae-young)