South Korea's first-ever icebreaker, the Araon, left Barrow port in Alaska Sunday for its exploration on the Arctic Ocean.

The vessel will travel northward at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour to reach the Beaufort Sea near Canada in two days. It will then earnestly begin its research on gas hydrate deposits.

The Araon will send out elastic waves into the ocean and analyze the returning signal to look for underlying stratum.

The ice breaker is exploring the Arctic Ocean for the fourth time but it's the first to do so in foreign waters.