South Korea denies considering large-scale purchases of long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, stating that Korean media reports are inconsistent with the facts.

Seoul officials deny considering large-scale purchases of long-term U.S. Treasury bonds.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance of Korea and the Bank of Korea (BOK) issued a joint statement refuting a report by a local media outlet. The report had claimed that, amid significant foreign capital outflows, Seoul was considering purchasing a large amount of U.S. government bonds.

The report alleged that Korea had proposed this purchase to Washington, aiming to expand its own foreign exchange reserves while helping support U.S. Treasury bond prices, which are under pressure due to market concerns over the U.S. fiscal deficit and inflation.

The report also stated that, during a meeting between senior Korean and U.S. financial officials in Bangkok on October 16, both sides had discussed the purchase proposal extensively.

The two responsible agencies stated that the report was untrue and called for caution when reporting on matters related to foreign exchange reserves.

The two institutions emphasized that the composition and specific details regarding the management of foreign exchange reserve assets are not disclosed to the public.

Participants in the October meeting included Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Hyoung-il, Bank of Korea Governor Shin Hyun-song, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, and U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Francis Brooke.

According to information released by the Ministry of Finance at that time, officials discussed the economic situation and bilateral financial cooperation, including ways to strengthen coordination to respond to external financial shocks.

After the meeting, the Ministry of Finance did not announce any agreement on purchasing U.S. Treasury bonds.

According to data released by the Bank of Korea on Wednesday, Korea’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of October reached $443.16 billion, an increase of $2.6 billion from the previous month.

The joint statement did not provide further details on the country’s reserve investment portfolio or investment operations.