South Korea has launched its first spy satellite into orbit, Seoul said Saturday, in an attempt to compete with its estranged neighbor North Korea.

What do we know so far?

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried the satellite from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base at 10:19 am local time (1819 GMT) Friday. It was placed into orbit about an hour after launch and it "successfully established communication with an overseas ground station," the South Korean Ministry of National Defense said.

"With this successful launch of the military satellite, our military has secured independent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities," the ministry said in a statement, adding the South Korean military is also developing a micro satellite system project for rapid monitoring and early warning.

South Korea has been trying to increase its surveillance capabilities to gain strategic advantage over North Korea.

Seoul has a contract with SpaceX to launch five spy satellites by 2025, in order to increase its surveillance of the Korean Peninsula. This year in May, South Korea also used its own Nuri launch vehicle to place a mission-capable satellite into orbit for the first time.

The satellite launched on Friday is an electro-optical and infra-red device, while the four following satellites are due to feature synthetic aperture radar (SAR), which can "see" through cloud cover and at night.

"Until now, South Korea has relied heavily on US-run spy satellites when it comes to monitoring the North. While the South has succeeded in the launch of a military communications satellite, it has taken much longer for a reconnaissance satellite due to higher technological hurdles," Choi Gi-il, professor of military studies at Sangji University, told AFP news agency. 

South Korean launch comes after North put its own satellite into orbit

The move by the South Korean government comes just days after North Korea successfully launched its own military reconnaissance satellite.

After two failed attempts earlier this year, North Korea used its Chollima-1 launch vehicle to place the Malligyong-1 reconnaissance satellite in orbit. This had received strong condemnation from the US, South Korea and other nations. 

North Korea said Saturday it would consider any interference with its satellite operations a declaration of war.

"In case the US tries to violate the legitimate territory of a sovereign state by weaponizing the latest technologies illegally and unjustly, the DPRK will consider taking responsive action measures for self-defense to undermine or destroy the viability of the US spy satellites," a statement from its defense ministry as quoted by KCNA agency said. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is the official name of North Korea.

Several UN Security Council resolutions ban any satellite launches by North Korea.

Pyongyang said it has satellite images of target regions in South Korea, which it claims were taken by its spy satellite.  

North and South Korea are both technically still at war, as the the Korean War ended in 1953 with a truce, not a peace treaty.

tg/wd (AFP, AP, Reuters)