South Korea’s space ambitions have suffered a setback after it was announced on Thursday that the intended launch of the Naro-1 rocket was suspended minutes before take-off. The development of South Korean rocket program, which South Korea has been working alongside Russia, has been going on for around ten years.

The timing of the launch of the Naro rocket is particularly significant given the spotlight on South Korea and North Korea right now in terms of their respective space ambitions. North Korea has also been looking to develop a space capability. According to Lee Chung-Min, an international relations professor at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea’s approach is very different as its space program is more about civilian applications and these don’t go against U.N. sanctions. South Korea is aiming to develop its own rocket by 2021.