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Hyunmoo 4-4

South Korea successfully test fired a homegrown submarine-launched ballistic missile on 01 September 2021, according to a 15 September statement by the Ministry of National Defense (MND) in Seoul. The SLBM was reportedly codenamed "Hyunmoo 4-4" as it was developed based on the technology of the country's Hyunmoo-2B ballistic missile with a range of about 500 km. The unveiling of the SLBM comes after the defense ministry and military had for years declined to confirm the program, citing security and intelligence concerns.

The indigenously-developed SLBM was launched underwater from a domestically-developed 3,000-ton Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine that was put into commission on 13 August 2021. The submarine is known to have six vertical launch tubes. The missile traveled a planned distance and hit the target precisely, the Blue House said.

The test launch was conducted in the afternoon at a test site of the state-run Agency for Defense Development (ADD) in South Chungcheong province, inspected by South Korean President Moon Jae-in and major military figures. ROK President Moon Jae-in also attended a previous underwater ejection test of the SLBM aboard the new 3,000 ton class Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine.

The ADD conducted several ground- and water tank-based tests of the SLBM, the defense ministry said in a separate statement. The military staged a successful test of the SLBM from an underwater barge in August 2021, before the September 2021 submarine test-launch.

The Republic of Korea (ROK) is the first country without nuclear weapons to develop a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). North Korea also has an SLBM development program. It displayed what appeared to be a new type of SLBM during military parades in January 2021 and October 2020. "Possessing a SLBM has significant meaning in securing deterrence against omnidirectional threats, and it is expected to play a key role in building self-defense capability and peace on the Korean Peninsula," Moon's office said in a statement.

Moon said the test had been planned in advance and was not in response to North Korea's provocations, referring to Wednesday's latest ballistic missile firings by North Korea. Moon stressed that bolstering South Korea's missile capability can defer to North Korea's provocations and called on the military to do its best to boost defense capabilities to counter and overwhelm North Korea's military power.

Even nuclear weapons states Pakistan and Israel do not have such a capability. The cost of deploying ballistic missiles from under water is generally seen as worthwhile when the missiles are tipped with nuclear warheads. This raised questions regarding the intentions of South Korea’s missile programs amid growing domestic pressure to develop nuclear weapons.

South Korea successfully tested two submarine-launched ballistic missiles local media said 22 April 2022 citing military sources, at a time of special tension on the peninsula due to the incessant escalation of weapons to both sides of the 38th parallel. The army launched the missile from the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho submarine 18 April 2022 in the Yellow Sea, and the director of the National Security Bureau, Suh Hoon, was present. The projectiles flew about 400 kilometers and hit pre-arranged maritime targets, according to the source. It is the second test of this type after the one carried out in September by South Korea, when it successfully tested a Hyunmoo IV-4 missile for the first time.