South Korea's foreign-exchange reserves hit a record high in November on the back of increased profit on investment, the central bank said Wednesday.

The country's foreign reserves totaled a record US$345.01 billion as of end-November, up $1.79 billion from the previous month, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

The foreign reserves rose for the fifth consecutive month last month after declining by the largest amount in 13 months in June.

In October, the figure grew by the biggest monthly gain of $6.3 billion since the same month of 2011, when the FX reserves rose by $7.59 billion.

Foreign reserves consist of securities and deposits denominated in overseas currencies, along with International Monetary Fund reserve positions, special drawing rights and gold bullion.

The BOK attributed the November gain to an increased profit on investment in securities, which rose by $760 million to $311.51 billion over the cited period.

Types of securities here include Treasuries, bonds sold by public institutions and financial companies, mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities.

The country's growing FX reserves and the current account surplus serve as buffers for South Korea at a time when some emerging countries had been suffering from foreign capital flight and currency depreciation, triggered by speculation over U.S. stimulus tapering.

As of the end of November, South Korea was the world's seventh-largest holder of foreign-exchange reserves. (Yonhap News)