South Korea sends first rocket into space

The launch of the two-stage Naro rocket could boost the country's space ambition but the North warned it would keep a close eye on the international response to Seoul's launch.

South Korea initially planned to launch the rocket in late July but delayed it several times due to technical glitches. Last Wednesday, the country aborted the launch plan just minutes before the scheduled blast off.

But Tuesday, all went according to plan. The rocket lifted off from the country's space center on Oenaro Island, about 290 miles south of Seoul, around 5 p.m. (4 a.m. ET).

It is South Korea's first launch of a rocket from its own territory. Since 1992, it has launched 11 satellites, all on foreign-made rockets sent from overseas sites.

The rocket, built with Russian help, was carrying a domestically built satellite aimed at observing the atmosphere and ocean.

South Korean officials hope the rocket will boost the country's aim to become a regional space power, along with China, Japan and India. North Korea, however, has warned it would "closely watch" how the U.S. and other neighboring countries respond to the South's launch.