The launch of South Korea's next-generation midsized observation satellite has been postponed due to problems in the carrier rocket.

The 540-kilogram satellite, loaded on Russia's Soyuz 2.1a rocket, was scheduled to take off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Saturday morning local time, or 3:07 p.m. Korea time.

The Ministry of Science and ICT said that the launch has been postponed to 3:07 p.m. Monday Korea time due to problems detected in the upper part of the carrier rocket.

The satellite was moved to Kazakhstan in late January where engineers from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute conducted inspections, injected fuel and successfully completed launch preparations over some 50 days.

Equipped with a locally developed imaging sensor system, the satellite will provide precise observation videos at 497-point-eight kilometers above the Earth's surface.