The research team of cell pioneer Hwang Woo-suk has cloned a dog for the first time anywhere in the world.

Hwang said in a news conference Wednesday that he and fellow Seoul National University professor Lee Byeong-chun delivered one cloned Afghan male pup on April 24th via Caesarean section and another male pup on May 29th that died of pneumonia 22 days later.

Researchers have named the healthy and normal 14-week old pup, "Snuppy", short for "Seoul National University puppy".

Hwang said various attempts to clone dogs had failed in the past due to their completely different reproductive system, adding that unlike other animals where females produce mature eggs that reach the womb fully developed, dogs require a separate "duct" where the immature eggs can first develop.

Hwang said that the technology used to create Snuppy will be used for researching stem cell treatment as well as studies on restoring extinct animals.

The team has applied for a patent on the work, which was featured on the Thursday cover of the journal, Nature.

Meanwhile, Ian Wilmut of England's Roslin Institute, who produced the first cloned animal, the sheep "Dolly", is scheduled to visit Seoul Thursday to discuss joint research with Hwang.

Prof. Hwang Woo-seok’s Bio Revolution