The nation's first ice-breaking vessel, the "Araon," arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand, on Thursday after wrapping up a month-long expedition in Antarctica to survey potential sites for a Korean scientific research facility.

The 75-hundred-ton Araon successfully completed its mission to survey candidate sites in Cape Burks and Terra Nova Bay for South Korea’s second research station in the area.

The icebreaker will leave New Zealand on Tuesday and will arrive in Incheon Port around March 15th.