The Korea Meteorological Administration says it has begun trial operations of the nation's first geostationary ocean-weather satellite, the "Cheollian.”

The weather agency made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the satellite has successfully captured weather-related images for the first time since it reached orbit after being launched on June 27th.

The Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and the satellite center under the weather agency will conduct a series of tests on the satellite through the end of this year before it goes into full operation.

Starting next year, the Cheollian will send the nation communication, maritime and climate data until 2018.