The nation’s first ice-breaking vessel Araon has begun exploration of Antarctica.

The 6,900-ton vessel docked at a location some nine kilometers away from Cape Burks at six p.m. Saturday Korean Standard Time.

Twenty-two members of the expedition will board a helicopter and get off at Cape Burks Sunday to study glaciers, ecology and other factors to serve as key data in selecting a candidate site for a Korean science base in the South Pole.

The remaining crew will sail in Antarctic waters and conduct ice-breaking operations without the help of Russian icebreakers.