South Korean satellite 'working normally'

South Korean officials say a recently launched satellite is working normally and transmitting data. Source: AAP

A SOUTH Korean satellite is working normally and transmitting data on its orbit, officials say.

The launch on Wednesday marked an advance in the country's space program at a time of high tensions over archrival North Korea's recent threat to test a third nuclear device.

The South Korean rocket blasted off from a launch pad in the southwestern coastal village of Goheung.

Science officials told cheering spectators minutes later the rocket delivered an observational satellite into orbit.

The Science Ministry gave an update on its operations in a brief statement.

A crowd gathered around a TV at a train station in downtown Seoul to watch the afternoon 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 program and cement its standing as a technology powerhouse whose semiconductors, smartphones and automobiles command global demand.

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

South Korea's success comes amid increased tension on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's threat to explode its third nuclear device.

Pyongyang is angry over tough new international sanctions over its December 12 rocket launch that also put a satellite into space, and it has accused its rivals of applying double standards toward the two Koreas' space programs.

Washington DC and Seoul have called North Korea's rocket launch a cover for a test of Pyongyang's banned ballistic missile technology.

North Korea recently acknowledged its long-range rockets have both scientific and military uses, and Kong Chang-duk, a professor of rocket science at South Korea's Chosun University, said the same argument could apply to the South.

Seoul may eventually be able "to build better missiles and scrutinise North Korea with a better satellite," Kong said.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US had observed the "successful" satellite launch.

She said there was no basis for comparing the South and the North's rocket programs.

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