South Korea's defense ministry says it has put its first military reconnaissance satellite into orbit, a move that will enable better monitoring of North Korea.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellite lifted off from the western US state of California at 10:19 a.m. local time on Friday.

The ministry said the satellite separated from the rocket and was placed into orbit as scheduled.

The satellite will orbit the Earth at an altitude between 400 and 600 kilometers. South Korean media reported that it is capable of identifying objects on the ground as small as 30 centimeters across.

South Korea plans to send four more spy satellites into space by 2025.

Ministry officials hope that monitoring North Korea with an independent satellite system will help capture early signs of potential North Korean ballistic missile launches and bolster the military's preemptive missile strike capability.

North Korea said it successfully put its own spy satellite into orbit last month. It said the satellite took pictures of the White House and US bases, including the Kadena Air Base in southwestern Japan. But Pyongyang has not published any of the images.