The number of South Korean satellites launched has reached 12 following the launch of the nation's first geostationary ocean-weather satellite, the "Cheollian," on Sunday.

The nation sent up its first Korean Institute of Technology Satellite (KITSAT 1) in August 1992. The satellite was produced by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) with technical assistance from the University of Surrey in Britain.

South Korea plans to launch in Russia between November and December the Arirang-Five satellite, which will have a radar imaging device that can detect developments in the ocean and on the Earth's surface at night and in bad weather.

In September, the Korean communications service provider KT will launch the Mugunghwa-Six satellite from a space center in Guiana on the northern coast of South America.