The nation's foreign exchange reserves were estimated to stand at some two-hundred-39 billion U.S. dollars at the end of December, up some 28-and-a-half billion dollars from the end of 2005.

The Bank of Korea said Wednesday that the increase is two-and-a-half times the growth of some eleven billion dollars posted the previous year.

The central bank attributed the rise to the overseas sale of currency stabilization bonds, increased earnings from investment in overseas securities and a hike in the foreign currency reserve requirements.

The nation ranks fifth in the world in terms of foreign exchange reservices after China, Japan, Russia and Taiwan.

Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits a nation holds in overseas currencies and gold bullion, in addition to International Monetary Fund compensations.