SEOUL, March 28 (Reuters) - South Korea's presidential office confirmed reports that North Korea had launched short-range missiles on Friday.

A presidential spokesman told a news briefing that the North had launched short range missiles as a part of a military exercise. Local news reports said three were launched into the sea off the west coast. "We believe the North does not want a deterioration of relations between the South and the North," spokesman Lee Dong-kwan told reporters. (Reporting by Jack Kim, Writing by Jon Herskovitz, editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

AlertNet news is provided by