South Korea's foreign exchange reserves rose to US$143.79 billion as of Oct. 15, up $2.25 billion from half a month ago.

The central bank attributed the upswing to income from foreign assets and a surge in foreign currency reserves deposited by banks at the BOK. It also pointed to an increase in the conversion of Japanese yen- and euro-denominated assets to dollar-dominated ones.

However, the foreign exchange market assumed that much of the jump was due to the government's recent dollar buying activities aimed at defending the exchange rate.