U.S. media say disgraced cloning scientist Hwang Woo-suk has cloned a dog that had died in 2002.

BioArts International CEO Lou Hawthorne announced the successful cloning on ABC television's "Good Morning America" Wednesday. He said a South Korean team led by Hwang has cloned the Hawthorne's family dog, Missy, who had died in 2002 at age 15.

The biotech company in northern California has entered into a partnership with Seoul-based Sooam Biotech Research Foundation, which counts Hwang among its key scientists.

Hawthorne has spent more than 20-million dollars and ten years trying to clone Missy. According to the New York Times, Hawthorne took genetic samples from Missy in 1997, and had more taken after she died.

Hawthorne said the first clone, Mira, was born last December followed by two others - Chin-Gu and Sarang - in February.

Hwang and his team at Seoul National University had successfully cloned a male Afghan hound named Snuppy in 2005.

Hwang, once considered a national hero, fell from grace when his team reported in 2004 that it had cloned human embryos and stem cells. But those claims were found to be fraudulent. Hwang is said to have been conducting stem cell research at a Thai lab since last year.

Meanwhile, BioArts plans to launch online auctions next month to clone five dogs, with bidding to start at 100-thousand dollars, following the successful cloning of Missy.