According to the published statements of the North Korean official KCNA news agency and the photographs distributed by it, on September 25, 2022, a ballistic missile was launched in the DPRK for the first time in the world from an underwater launcher located in an internal reservoir (reservoir). The launch (apparently a test) was watched by the leader of the DPRK, Comrade Kim Jong-un.
Launch of a North Korean ballistic missile from an underwater launcher located on an internal reservoir (reservoir), 09/25/2022 (c) KCNAThe KCNA agency reported:
"At dawn on September 25, exercises on launching ballistic missiles, simulated missiles with a tactical nuclear warhead, were conducted at an underwater launch site in a reservoir in the north-west of our country.\
The purpose of the exercises is to approve the procedure for the rapid and safe handling of tactical nuclear warheads during their removal, transportation and use, to test and improve the reliability of the application system as a whole, as well as to test the ability to launch a ballistic missile on an underwater launch pad and to check readiness for rapid response.
The launched tactical ballistic missile flew along a set trajectory to the airspace over a certain target in the Korean East Sea, the reliability of accurate ignition of warheads at a set altitude was confirmed.
In addition, the practical exercises confirmed the direction of the planned construction of an underwater platform for launching into the reservoir."
Judging by the widespread photos, the missile launched from an underwater launcher in the reservoir is similar to the new light North Korean submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), the first test launch of which was made in the Sea of Japan on October 19, 2021 from a North Korean-built diesel-electric missile submarine (called 8.24 Yongung, or "Hero Submarine 8.24", the Western designation is Sinpo-B, or Gorae class). This missile in its appearance and size is close to the previously repeatedly tested and demonstrated North Korean "Iskander-like" solid-fuel ballistic operational-tactical missiles and shorter-range ground-based missiles. Presumably, this new SLBM was first demonstrated in October 2021 in Pyongyang at the State Defense Development Exhibition "Self-Defense - 2021", where it was laid out on the stand along with the larger North Korean SLBMs "Pukkykson-1" and "Pukkykson-3".
It is unclear whether a mine or some other stationary launcher directly at the bottom of the reservoir or some kind of submersible stand was now used to launch the North Korean missile.
Recall that proposals on the placement of ballistic missiles at the bottom of inland reservoirs have been repeatedly put forward in the USSR and in the USA since the late 1950s, but have not been implemented anywhere. So these actions of the DPRK are unique and of undoubted interest.
With regard to the placement of such systems on the seabed, it should be noted that the 1971 Seabed Treaty imposed a complete ban on the installation and placement on the seabed and oceans, as well as in its depths beyond 22 km (12 nautical miles) of the coastal zone of any types of weapons of mass destruction and all structures, launchers and other devices for storing, testing or using such weapons. However, the DPRK did not join this treaty.
Launch of a North Korean ballistic missile from an underwater launcher located on an internal reservoir (reservoir), 09/25/2022 (c) KCNA
