MOSCOW - Russia's Northern Fleet on Tuesday successfully test-launched a Sineva intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from the strategic nuclear submarine Yekaterinburg in the Barents Sea, according to Interfax news agency.

Citing Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Igor Konashenkov, the reports said a Sineva missile was launched underwater from the Yekaterinburg submarine and its warheads reached the Kura range on the fareastern Kamchatka Peninsula at the planned time.

"The launch was designed to test the reliability of Russian marine strategic nuclear forces," Konashenkov was quoted as saying.

The RSM-54 Sineva is a third-generation liquid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile that entered service with the Russian Navy in July 2007. It can carry four to 10 nuclear warheads, depending on the modification.

The missile, about 15 meters long with a diameter of 1.9 meters, can be launched from a submarine from over 50 meters beneath the water level.

In last October, the Northern Fleet successfully tested an underwater launch of the Sineva ICBM from a K-117 Bryansk strategic nuclear submarine in the Barents Sea.