The second surveillance satellite built in South Korea was safely launched into orbit on Monday, according to the country's defence ministry.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried the spy satellite from an American space centre into orbit, Seoul’s defence ministry confirmed.

December saw Seoul announce the successful launch of its first military surveillance satellite, which was also transported by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket owned by Elon Musk.

According to a statement from the defence ministry, "Our military's second reconnaissance satellite successfully separated from the launch vehicle at around 09:02 (1202 GMT) and entered the target orbit."

It said, "We intend to verify whether the satellite is functioning normally through communication with foreign ground stations."

Following the North's first military eye on the Korean Peninsula, the most recent events have escalated a space race on that peninsula.

The South’s first satellite has transmitted high-resolution images of central Pyongyang to the authorities in Seoul and is expected to commence its full mission stages as early as June, according to Seoul’s Yonhap news agency.

Seoul plans to launch a total of five military spy satellites by 2025 to better monitor the North.

Once all five enter orbit and commence their missions, the South Korean military will have the capability to monitor key facilities in North Korea using imagery sent around every two hours, according to a report by Seoul’s government-run broadcaster KTV.

North Korea, meanwhile, has claimed its spy satellite has sent images of a US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and “major target” sites across South Korea.

Seoul has said the North received technical help from Moscow for the launch in return for supplying weapons for use in Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Experts have said putting a working reconnaissance satellite into orbit would improve North Korea’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, particularly over South Korea, and provide crucial data in any military conflict.

AFP