South Korea denies report that it is considering large-scale purchases of long-term U.S. Treasuries.

South Korea denied media reports that the government is considering large-scale purchases of U.S. long-term Treasury bonds as a way to increase foreign exchange reserves, saying the report is "inconsistent with the facts." The South Korean Ministry of Finance said in a statement that the asset composition and management method of foreign exchange reserves are confidential matters. Earlier, the Korea Economic Daily reported that the South Korean government and the Bank of Korea recently proposed this idea to the United States, and the U.S. side responded positively. The report, citing unnamed financial industry sources, said the move is also aimed at strengthening economic ties with the United States.