A rocket launched by South Korea has crashed after blasting off. The rocket ran into trouble as it reached an altitude of 70 kilometers. Seoul's science minister says it might have exploded.

The launch of the self-developed rocket was a day late due to technical problems. It lost contact with the ground controller 137 seconds after the takeoff. South Korea spent more than 400 million U.S. dollars developing the Naro-1. The minister offered an apology to the public for botching the ambitious project, but says South Korea will continue its efforts to improve the technology.