SEOUL, Oct. 21 (YONHAP) -- South Korea launched its first domestically developed space rocket on Thursday (Oct 21), television pictures showed, as it seeks to join the ranks of advanced space-faring nations.

The Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II, informally called Nuri, rose upwards from the launch site in Goheung trailing a column of flame, with a commentator saying: "It looks like it's soaring into the sky without problems."

However, the space rocket failed to put its dummy payload into orbit after its maiden launch on Thursday, President Moon Jae-in said.

The launch and all three stages of the Korea Space Launch Vehicle II worked, as did the payload separation, Moon said, but “putting a dummy satellite into orbit remains an unfinished mission”.