A satellite city, south of Seoul, will oblige residents to register pet dogs using implanted microchips, Yonhap News reported quoting city officials Tuesday.

The municipal government of Seongnam issued guidelines mandating that all pet dogs be registered with local authorities in what will be a three-month trial run in two city districts. The system goes into effect across the city in the second half of next year.

"Dog owners who want to register their dogs can first fill out a form at a pet hospital and get an operation to implant a small chip in the skin around its neck," Jeong Jum-deok, director of agriculture and animal policy team at the city government, was quoted as saying.

The 25 sq. millimeter microchip will contain the address of the registered office, the pet's birthday and breed, and the owner's name, address and phone numbers.

Once the forms are submitted to the city, the owner will receive a registration card and the pet's information will be stored in a computer database of the agriculture ministry.

"If the dog gets lost or thrown out onto the streets, the information in the chip can easily help find the owner," Jeong told Yonhap. "A special device reads the codes to find the owner of the pet."

The city expects the system to cover some 8,000 dogs older than three months.