SEOUL, Jan 30: South Korea launched a satellite into space from its own soil for the first time on Wednesday amid increased tensions after the North accomplished a similar feat and was condemned by the United Nations.

The South Korean rocket blasted off from a launch pad in the south-western coastal village of Goheung. Officials told cheering spectators minutes later that the rocket delivered an observational satellite into orbit. Officials expected to know on Thursday whether the satellite is operating as intended.

A crowd gathered around a TV at a train station in downtown Seoul to watch the launch. “I’m proud we have entered the ranks of satellite powers,” office worker Hyun Day-sun said.

The launch is a culmination of years of efforts by South Korea — Asia’s fourth-largest economy — to advance its space programme and cement its standing as a technology powerhouse whose semiconductors, smart phones and automobiles command global demand.

North Korea’s long-range rocket programme, in contrast, has generated international fears that it is getting closer to developing nuclear missiles capable of striking the US.

Seoul’s success comes amid increased tension on the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang’s threat to explode its third nuclear device. Pyongyang is angry over tough new international sanctions over its Dec 12 rocket launch and has accused its rivals of applying double standards toward the two Koreas’ space programmes.—AP