According to Yonhap News,

(SEJONG=Yonhap News) South Korea's exports of industrial parts and materials reached a new high for the first quarter with the country's trade surplus in the field also achieving a record level, the government said Thursday.

Outbound shipments of industrial parts and materials amounted to US$66.7 billion in the three months ended March 31, up 3 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The figure marks an 8.38 percent drop from the fourth quarter, but the highest for the first quarter in the country's history.

"This shows that the country's exports of industrial parts and materials are continuing to grow strongly since the trade surplus in the sector breached the $100 billion mark for the first time in the country's history last year," the ministry said in a press release.

The country's trade surplus in the sector gained 7 percent on-year to $26 billion in the January-March period as imports inched up 0.6 percent to $40.7 billion.

By country, shipments to China gained 6.4 percent on-year to $23.3 billion, making China the world's single largest market for South Korea's industrial parts and materials.

Shipments to the United States surged 11.48 percent to $6.8 billion.

Exports to Japan, the world's second-largest market for South Korea's industrial parts and materials, plunged 11.4 percent on-year to $3.1 billion.

However, the country continued to narrow its dependence on Japan as the portion of Japanese products in the country's overall imports dropped to a record low of 17.1 percent, the ministry said. The portion has been dropping steadily over the past years from 25.2 percent in 2010 to 20.8 percent last year.

bdk@yna.co.kr

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