North Korea appears to have launched its first ballistic missile in about two months, just days after leader Kim Jong Un indicated that returning to stalled nuclear talks with the U.S. was a low priority for him this year. North Korea fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile from land into waters off its east coast Wednesday, South Korea’s military said. The missile flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles) on a normal trajectory and landed in waters outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone, officials in Tokyo said. The flight path suggests North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called the launch “extremely regrettable” and said his government would step up surveillance. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. South Korea’s presidential National Security Council convened and said in a statement it was “concerned” about the launch. The group called on North Korea to resume nuclear negotiations, which it said would help “resolve the current strain on inter-Korean relations.” North Korea’s last major test came in October, when it said it test-fired a new type of ballistic missile from one of its submarines -- a move that potentially reduces the time the U.S. and allied forces in the region would be able to deploy interceptors in the case of an actual attack. The latest test-firing provided a reminder to President Joe Biden that Kim’s nuclear arsenal remains among the U.S.’s biggest foreign policy challenges. Pyongyang has given a cold shoulder to Washington’s invitation to return to the bargaining table, and last year accused the Biden administration of being “engrossed in confrontation despite its lip-service to dialogue.” Kim told a policy-setting meeting of his ruling party that his state should focus on easing food shortages and containing Covid, the country’s official media said Saturday. That downbeat New Year’s assessment suggested the North Korean leader had little intention of returning to the nuclear disarmament talks that have been stalled for about two years. As Kim marked a decade in power, pressures have been mounting at home, where the economy is now smaller than when he started his rule. His state is facing dire food shortages and Kim has made rare admissions economic hardships. The situation has been made worse by severe weather and Kim’s decision to shut borders due to the pandemic, effectively slamming the brakes on legal trade and the black market flow of foodstuffs from China. After slowing down tests when Biden took office a year ago, North Korea returned to provocations in full force from September, increasing Kim’s leverage as he tries to ease sanctions choking his state’s anemic economy. In the latter half of last year, his regime tested new long-range cruise missiles, showed off a new system to fire ballistic missiles from a train and shot what it called a “hypersonic missile.” It also appears to have restored plutonium-producing operations and expanded a plant that enriches uranium for weapons. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/2TwO8Gm Subscribe to our newest channel Quicktake Explained: https://bit.ly/3iERrup Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world. To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/qt/live, or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app. Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake: https://cor.us/surveys/27AF30 Connect with us on… YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/Bloomberg Breaking News on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BloombergQuickTakeNews Twitter: https://twitter.com/quicktake Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/quicktake Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quicktake