South Korea's foreign assets reached a record high in the second quarter of the year on more investments in overseas securities and increased foreign exchange reserves, government data showed Tuesday.
  

According to the data released by the finance ministry, the country's external assets stood at $711.9 billion as of end-June, $30.2 billion more than three months earlier.
  

In comparison, South Korea's external debt reached $420.6 billion as of the end of June, up $1.7 billion from the end of the first quarter.
  

Of the total, $299.4 billion was long-term debt, down $6.7 billion from the previous three-month period, while short-term debt rose $8.4 billion to $121.2 billion.
  

The ratio of the short-term debt against the country's total debt moved up 1.9 percentage points vis-a-vis the first quarter to 28.8 percent.
  

The ministry said the dip in long-term debt is mostly due to changes in the foreign exchange rate that affected bonds issued in the Korean won, while a rise in short-term debt is related to more foreign currency borrowing by banks and investments made in currency stabilization bonds by non-residents.
  

The latest findings showed the percentage of short-term foreign debt to the country's foreign reserve assets rising 1.2 percentage points to 32.3 percent.
  

"Despite some changes, the overall level of foreign debt is not large, with the country retaining sufficient foreign exchange reserves," the ministry said.
  

The country's foreign exchange reserves reached $370.8 billion as of the end of July, down $3.9 billion from June, according to central bank data. (Yonhap)