South Korea’s first rocket carrying an observation satellite blasts off from launch pad

SKorea launches its first rocket into space

GOHEUNG, South Korea — South Korea has sent its first rocket into space from a launch pad in the south — about four months after rival North Korea drew international sanctions for its own rocket launch.

The two-stage Naro rocket lifted off Tuesday from the country’s space center on an island off the southern coast.

North Korea says it will be watching closely to see how the international community reacts to South Korea’s launch. Pyongyang fired a multistage rocket in April, calling it a peaceful development in its space program.

But the U.N. Security Council condemned it as a violation of resolutions barring the North from ballistic missile-related activity. The same rocket could carry a warhead.