Exports were up 11.8 percent at $46.08 billion, compared to a revised 5.7 percent downturn in December, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Friday.

Imports rose 3.9 percent on-year to $45.21 billion, leaving an $874 million trade surplus.

The January figure is a boost for the national economy which is heavily reliant on export performance, but analysts pointed out that it was slightly skewed by having two more working days last month than in January 2012.

The discrepancy was due to the timing of the lunar new year holiday.

The ministry said exports to China had picked up momentum in January, and noted renewed confidence in the eurozone.

"The global economy shows signs of bottoming out," Han Jin-Hyun, deputy minister for international trade and investment, told journalists.

"Shipments of IT products and mobile equipments were strong while auto exports were also up. However, shipbuilding was flat and steel and iron were sluggish," he said.