SEOUL: South Korean exports for the first 20 days of this month fell 1.2 percent from a year earlier while imports rose 5.4 percent, customs agency data showed on Thursday.

Exports for the August 1-20 period totalled $25.766 billion and imports were $27.646 billion, Korea Customs data showed on its website

This brought the trade deficit for the 20-day period to $1.88 billion.

Trade data for the full month, as well as details on shipments, will be released on Sept. 1.