North Korea has reportedly conducted a test of an ejection launcher as part of its submarine-launched ballistic missile program. 

The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative online newspaper based in the United States, quoted U.S. intelligence officials as saying that the North recently conducted the land-based test at a facility in Sinpo, South Hamgyeong Province.

The Beacon reported that the land-based test simulated the initial stage of boosting a missile out of a submarine launch tube and is a sign that the North is working to secure underwater missile strike capabilities for a future nuclear-tipped missile.

Joseph Bermudez., a U.S. expert on the North’s defense and intelligence affairs, said last month that a new test stand presumed to be used for a vertical launch of sea-based ballistic missiles was found in satellite photos of the North's Sinpo South Shipyard.

Bermudez said in an article on the North Korea analysis Web site, 38 North, that the facility stands on a concrete pad 35 meters wide and 30 meters long with a 12-meter-high test stand.