South Korea's net external assets in debt instruments hit a record high of $383.5 billion in the third quarter, data showed Wednesday.

The figure represents an increase of $25.7 billion from the previous quarter, according to the data by the Bank of Korea.

The nation's total external liability reached $400.4 billion in the third quarter, up $8.6 billion from a quarter earlier.

Among them, the country's short-term external debt, with a maturity of one year or less, totaled $111.8 billion as of the end of September, up $5 billion from three months earlier.

The country's short-term external debt accounted for 27.9 percent of the country's total external debt, up 0.7 percentage point from the previous quarter, the data showed.

The ratio of short-term foreign debt to foreign reserves stood at 29.6 percent at the end of September, up from 28.9 percent at the end of June.

South Korea's short-term foreign debt was an area of concern during past financial turmoil as a sharp rise in foreign debt left lenders vulnerable to external shocks.

The ratio had sharply surged during the global financial crisis, hitting 79.3 percent in the third quarter of 2008.

Meanwhile, South Korea's net external financial asset came to $219.2 billion as of end-September, down $14.9 billion from the preceding quarter, the data showed.

The country's financial assets invested overseas reached $1.247 trillion at the end of September, up $53.4 billion from three months earlier.

Foreign investors' financial investment in the country, including stocks and bonds, rose $68.2 billion to $1.028 trillion over the cited period, according to the data. (Yonhap)