SEOUL - South Korea's third indigenous military spy satellite has been launched from a space center in California of the United States on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday.

The rocket lifted off at 8:34 pm Seoul time (1134 GMT) on Saturday from the Vandenberg Space Force Base as planned, and the rocket has successfully placed the spy satellite into orbit, Yonhap said, citing the country's defense ministry.

It is the third military satellite launched under South Korea's plan to acquire five spy satellites by 2025, the report said.

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South Korea launched its first spy satellite in December last year, followed by another launch in April, according to Yonhap.