The Mugunghwa 5 military communications satellite was originally due to lift off on August 10 from the South Pacific.

US-based firm Sea Launch is responsible for the launch into orbit at 36,000 kilometers (22,000 miles). France's Alcatel built the satellite.

"We have rescheduled the satellite launch from August 10 to August 20 as requested by Sea Launch," said a spokesman at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, which is affiliated with the defense ministry.

The spokesman did not elaborate on the reasons for the delay, which is being jointly funded by the defense ministry and KT, the country's top communications firm. Last month, the two agreed on joint management and control of the satellite.

The ministry expects the satellite to enhance the military's communications capability, which currently relies heavily on land lines and terrestrial radio communications.

Seoul has launched three commercial satellites -- the Mugunghwa 1, 2 and 3 since 1995. Mugunghwa 4 does not exist as the number four has bad luck connotations in Korea.

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