After analyzing debris from the first stage of a long-range rocket recently launched by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), South Korea on Sunday claimed that the rocket launch was intended to develop intercontinental ballistic missile technology, according to the defense ministry in Seoul.

The defense ministry said the analysis of the rocket's oxidizer tank, which was retrieved from the Yellow Sea off South Korea last week, suggested the launch was aimed more at testing missile technology, though the DPRK has repeatedly insisted that it was a scientific mission to send a satellite into space.

A team of 42 South Korean military, rocket and missile experts examined the 3.2-ton cylindrical debris, measuring 2.4 meters in diameter and 7.6 meters in length, between Dec. 14 and Dec. 18.

A defense ministry official who asked to remain anonymous told a press briefing that the rocket used red fuming nitric acid that can be stored for a long time at normal temperature as an oxidizing agent.

He explained that general space launch vehicles, such as South Korea's Naro-1 rocket, depend on liquid oxygen as an oxidizing agent.

"Therefore, we judge that (the DPRK's) intention was more about developing intercontinental ballistic missile technology rather than developing a space launch vehicle," the official said.

The analysis also said they found the DPRK had used its existing missile technology to develop the rocket, which successfully separated at each stage, according to the ministry.

On Dec. 12, the DPRK successfully fired a rocket that put a satellite in space in defiance of international sanctions. The first stage of the rocket fell in the sea off the Korean Peninsula, while the second landed east of the Philippines.

Some countries, including South Korea and the United States, saw it as a cover for a ballistic missile test as sending a satellite into space uses a similar technology as firing a long- range missile.

The U.N. Security Council condemned the latest launch as a violation of resolutions barring the DPRK from carrying out missile or nuclear tests.