South Korea's trade volume exceeds $1 trillion for 4 consecutive years

South Korea's trade volume has exceeded US$1 trillion for four consecutive years since 2011, the government announced Friday. Exports amounted to $520.16 billion, while imports totaling $479.83 billion, according to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy. 

The trade volume surpassed the $1 trillion mark as of 1:07 p.m. Nov. 28, the ministry said.

The country reached the milestone in the shortest period of time. In previous years, the nation topped the $1 trillion mark in December.

Ministry officials forecast that the nation's trade volume will likely reach a record high of $1.1 trillion this year with exports reaching a record high of $570 billion and trade surplus hitting an all-time high. 

According to the Korea Customs Service, the cumulative trade surplus reached $36.3 billion in the first 10 months of this year. Last year, the yearly surplus totaled $44.1 billion.

In terms of trade volume, South Korea was ranked ninth in the world in 2013. China outpaced the United States for the first time and took the top spot among member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Germany came in third, followed by Japan, France, the Netherlands and Britain.

Hong Kong placed eighth, one notch ahead of South Korea.