Seoul, Aug 25 (DPA) South Korea launched a rocket carrying a satellite for the first time from its own territory Tuesday.

The KSLV-1 blasted off from a new space centre in the south of the country at 5 p.m. local time, TV reports said.

The rocket is due to put a small research satellite into earth orbit.

Last week, the launch was halted at the last minute because of a software problem.

If the mission is successful, South Korea would be the tenth country to launch an artificial satellite into space from its own territory.

Russia was involved in the construction of the rocket which cost 503 billion won ($402 million).