South Korea's trade surplus with the United States hit a record high in the first half of the year.

According to the Industry Ministry and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) on Sunday, the country's shipments to the United States came to 28-point-seven billion dollars during the first six months of the year, up 55-point-one percent from a year earlier.

This figure is much larger than the country's overall surplus of 23-point-one billion dollars posted during the cited period.

If the pace continues, the country's trade surplus with the United States is likely to reach 50 billion dollars for the entire 2024, surpassing last year's 44-point-four billion dollars.

With a sharp increase in South Korea's exports to the United States last year, the United States continues to be the country with the greatest trade surplus. On the other hand, imports from the United States have not changed significantly.

From the U.S. perspective, South Korea is moving up in the rankings of ten countries with which the United States posted a trade deficit. South Korea was not included in the list in 2021, but it ranked ninth in 2022 and eighth in 2023.