South Korea tested at least one submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) earlier this week to bolster its defense capabilities, the defense ministry told NK News on Friday.

The ROK military last tested an SLBM in September, in what South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in described as “the reinforcement of our missile capabilities” and “clear deterrent to North Korea’s provocations.”

Monday’s test “was conducted as part of the verification of [South Korea’s] SLBM capabilities in the actual environment after the successful SLBM launch last year,” the defense ministry said in a statement. 

“The South Korean military has secured and will continue to develop