South Korea says it has successfully launched Wednesday, Jan 30, a satellite into orbit from its own soil for the first time, The Associated Press reported.

The high-stakes launch comes just weeks after archrival North Korea successfully launched its own satellite to the surprise of the world.

South Korean liftoffs in 2009 and 2010 failed. Two more recent launch attempts were aborted at the last minute because of technical problems.

The attempt came amid increased tension on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea's threat to explode its third nuclear device. Pyongyang is angry over tough new international sanctions over the Dec 12 long-range rocket launch that delivered its satellite.