The Pentagon has called on North Korea to halt “needless provocations” through missile tests, urging Pyongyang to engage in dialogue after it claimed to test a satellite system over the weekend.

The DPRK has now conducted nine rounds of projectile tests this year, including what it has described as two launches to test “reconnaissance satellite” systems less than a week apart. One expert told NK News that the latest launch likely used a ballistic missile-class booster.

“These continue to be provocations, needless provocations at that,” John Kirby, press secretary of the U.S. Department of