Korea's foreign reserves rose from a month earlier in February, marking the first increase in three months, driven by investment returns and the issuance of foreign currency-denominated Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF) bonds, the central bank said Thursday. The country's foreign reserves stood at $427.62 billion as of end-February, up $1.72 billion from a month earlier, according to the data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). The reserves had fallen in December for the first time since June and continued to decline through January. "The increase came mainly from the issuance of new ESF bonds and investment returns, despite foreign exchange swaps with the National Pension Service and a decline in the U.S. dollar-converted value of assets in other currencies," a BOK official said. Foreign securities, including U.S. Treasuries, rose by $2.4 billion from a month earlier to $380 billion at end-February, accounting for 88.9 percent of the country's total foreign reserves. But the value of foreign currency deposits fell by $800 million to $22.5 billion, while special drawing rights (SDRs) edged down