South Korea's foreign currency reserves posted a drop for the first time in six months in February.

According to the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, the total value of the country's foreign exchange reserves came to 409-point-17 billion dollars as of the end of February, down 480 million dollars from a month earlier.

This marks the first drop since August last year.

The central bank explained that the strengthening of the U.S. dollar led to a dip in the dollar value of other foreign currencies held by the country.

South Korea retained its position as the world's ninth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves at the end of January, with China topping the list, followed by Japan and Switzerland.