The South Korean military has completed ground-based tests of a domestically developed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) and plans to conduct underwater tests this year.

A military source said Wednesday that ground-based tests were completed last year for the missile, which would be carried on South Korean submarines of three-thousand tons or more.

However, the source said neither the dates nor the means of the underwater tests has been decided.

The South Korean military has been developing a SLBM based on the Hyunmoo-2B ballistic missile, which has a range of 500 kilometers.

The South Korean navy has already deployed the Dosan Ahn Changho-class submarine, a three-thousand-ton boat with six vertical launch tubes, and plans to build several classes of even larger submarines.

The navy is even considering developing a nuclear-powered submarine of over four-thousand tons.

North Korea, meanwhile, is reportedly building a new submarine that can launch SLBMs.