The Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) has reportedly test-fired two submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) off the coast of Yellow Sea.
A report published by Yonhap News Agency (YNA) said that the test-launch of the missiles marks the expected operational deployment of the two SLBMs in the near future.
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The agency said that the launches were conducted in the presence of Presidential National Security Office director Sun Hoon on 18 April 2022.
According to an undisclosed government source cited by the YNA, the consecutive firings were conducted at an interval of 20 seconds from the ROKN’s Dosan Ahn Chang-ho attack submarine.
The missiles cruised to a distance of approximately 400km and hit the stipulated maritime targets.
The South Korean Navy’s 3,000t Dosan Ahn Chang-ho attack submarine can be equipped with up to six SLBMs.
Built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), the ROKN’s first missile-capable submarine, Dosan Ahn Chang-ho, was launched in 2018.
In addition, the ROKN is also working to deploy the first batch of three Dosan Ahn submarines later this year.
In September 2021, the ROKN also test-launched its homegrown SLBM from Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine at the Anheung Test Center in South Chungcheong Province in South Korea.
Following the test, South Korea became the seventh country to have its own homegrown SLBMs.
Besides, the agency reported that North Korea has been working to deploy SLBMs.
