TOKYO — The North Korean missile that landed in Japanese waters on Wednesday offered another stark reminder of the threat posed to Japan by the kinds of short-range weapons that the North has been testing in recent months.

Yet there are clear limits to what Japan can do about it. The launch reinforced how deeply Japan has been sidelined as President Trump tries to get nuclear talks with North Korea back on track, brushing off Pyongyang’s string of missile tests in the process.

The ballistic missile launched early Wednesday was the first to splash down in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 miles off its coast, in nearly two years.

North Korea’s official news agency said Thursday that a submarine had fired the missile, corroborating the suspicions of South Korea’s military, which said the missile had been launched from the sea.