On Tuesday, a rocket carrying the satellite blasted off from North Phyongan and "accurately put the reconnaissance satellite 'Malligyong-1' on its orbit," state-run news agency KCNA reported.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) leader Kim Jong Un witnessed the blastoff and then proceeded to congratulate the scientists and technicians behind the mission.

The United States was quick to condemn the launch as a "brazen violation" of UN sanctions and said it could destabilize the region.

South Korea also reacted by saying it would resume surveillance operations along the border with the DPRK that had been suspended in 2018, upon a Seoul-Pyongyang agreement to reduce "military tensions", reported the Yonhap news agency.

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KCNA said after this mission that "the launch of reconnaissance satellite is a legitimate right of the DPRK for strengthening its self-defensive capabilities" as the country confronts what it considers threats from South Korea and the United States. 

Seoul has been saying for weeks that Pyongyang was in the final stages of preparation to launch another surveillance satellite, warning it would take "necessary measures" if it went ahead.

The North's May attempt failed due to the "abnormal" startup of its second-stage engine, and the August bid was due to an error in the "emergency blasting system" during the third-stage flight, according to Pyongyang state media at the time.

Tuesday's "launch came hours before its time window notification seems to underscore two things: Pyongyang's confidence in success and intention to maximize surprise factor to the outside world," Choi Gi-il, professor of military studies at Sangji University, told AFP.