South Korea's foreign reserves increased for the third consecutive month in January due to the recent weakening of the U.S. dollar.

According to the Bank of Korea on Friday, the nation's foreign currency reserves totaled 429-point-97 billion dollars as of the end of last month, up six-point-81 billion dollars from a month earlier.

The reserves expanded for the third straight month after declining for three consecutive months from August to October.

The rise is attributed to an increase in the value of non-dollar assets when converted into the greenback, with the dollar weakening one-point-five percent against major currencies in January.

As of the end of December, South Korea was the world's ninth-largest holder of foreign exchange reserves. China topped the list at over three trillion dollars, followed by Japan, Switzerland and Russia.