The South Korean military has successfully salvaged an object presumed to be North Korea's Malligyong-1 military spy satellite, which fell into the Yellow Sea after a failed launch to place it in orbit on May 31.

A high-level government official told KBS that the Navy retrieved the object from international waters to the west of the country last week, after which it was transported by helicopter to the Agency for Defense Development in the central city of Daejeon.

The official said the object was recovered from a location within the key search zone set by the military.

The object is reported to be in relatively good condition, and if it is confirmed to be Malligyong-1, it is expected to help the military better understand the current state of the North's satellite technology.

A military official said operations are continuing to retrieve debris and that the South Korean and U.S. militaries are jointly analyzing retrieved items.