South Korea's foreign currency reserves fell in six months as the strong U.S. dollar reduced the conversion value of non-dollar assets, central bank data showed Wednesday.

Foreign reserves reached 401.13 billion U.S. dollars as of end-August, down 1.32 billion dollars from a month earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).

It was the first fall in six months, ending the five-month growth trend from March to July. The strong dollar lowered the conversion value of non-dollar assets, leading to the lower foreign reserves.

The dollar appreciated 0.4 percent versus the European single currency, gaining 1 percent to the British pound. The greenback advanced 2 percent against the Australian dollar last month.

The country's foreign reserves were composed of 372.84 billion dollars of securities, 18.05 billion dollars of deposits, 4.79 billion dollars of gold bullion, 3.53 billion dollars of special drawing rights and 1.92 billion dollars of IMF positions.

South Korea was the ninth largest holder of foreign reserves in the world, unchanged from the prior month.