South Korea was yesterday counting down to the launch of its first space rocket, a move aimed at joining Asia's space race despite protests from rival North Korea.
Officials said the rocket partially built by Russia would blast off late today,weather permitting, and put into orbit a South Korean-built 100kg satellite.
A successful launch from the Naro Space Centre at Goheung,475km south of Seoul, will mean the nation has joined an elite club of nine nations which have put a satellite into orbit.
Security was tight around the launch site, where about 1,600 police were on guard. The Defence Ministry said a squadron of fighter jets and an Aegisclass warship would deploy in the area.
Today's blast-off has been delayed several times from late 2008 for technical reasons.
South Korea has sent 10 satellites into space using launch vehicles from other countries. Seoul announced a plan to launch a lunar orbiter by 2020.
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