Yonhap news agency and the Chosun newspaper said the missile, with a range of 150 kilometers (90 miles), was designed by a state research institute affiliated with the defense ministry.

"The domestic cruise missile was successfully test-fired," an unnamed military official was quoted as saying.

The ministry refused to conform the report. "Our policy is not to confirm a sensitive report on weapons development," a ministry official told AFP.

The missile hit a target located 70 kilometers off the east coast after being fired from a navy vessel, Yonhap said, adding the missile could be deployed aboard new destroyers as early as next year.

In April, South Korea launched a 4,500-tonne KDX-II destroyer capable of waging anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare as well as electronic surveillance operations.

South Korea has pushed forward with its own missile defense system to counter North Korea's artillery and short-range missiles.

SPACE.WIRE