The SLBM is believed to be a variant of the country’s Hyunmoo-2B ballistic missile, with a range of around 500 kilometres (310 miles), and will be mass-produced for deployment after another round of tests, it added.

Seoul on Monday allocated nearly 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) for defence technology research and development next year in a budget request submitted to parliament.

The defence ministry said it could not confirm details of individual military unit capabilities due to security reasons. However, Bloomberg News, quoting an unidentified defence official, confirmed the launch.

DAPA had no comment and referred questions to the defence ministry.

SLBMs have been developed by seven other countries, including the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, India, and North Korea. All of those countries also have nuclear weapons arsenals, which have typically been used to arm SLBMs.

Yonhap said the conventionally armed ROK missile has reportedly been codenamed the Hyunmoo 4-4 and is believed to be a variant of the country’s Hyunmoo-2B ballistic missile, with a flight range of around 500 kilometres (311 miles).

North Korea has unveiled a series of new SLBMs in recent years.