South Korea's exports rose in April, driven by strong semiconductor sales, trade data showed, as trade tensions over US tariffs persist.

The country, Asia's fourth largest economy, remains one of Washington's key trading partners and home to powerhouse chip and auto industries.

Its exports in April totalled $58.2 billion, up 3.7 percent year-on-year, according to Korea Customs Service Thursday.

According to other data released by the trade ministry, exports of chips — the nation's largest outbound product — rose 17.2 percent, the largest jump in four months and the highest ever for the month of April.

Also performing well were wireless communication devices including smartphones and biopharmaceutical products, with increases of 26.5 percent and 21.8 percent, respectively.

Seoul and Washington are working to craft a "trade package" intended to roll back US President Donald Trump's new levies ahead of a July 8 expiration of his administration's tariff freeze.

Washington implemented a 25 percent tariff on steel imports in early March, followed by a 25 percent tariff on auto imports.

In addition, a 10 percent blanket tariff went into effect in early April, and higher "reciprocal" tariffs targeting major countries, including South Korea, were suspended for 90 days.

The trade figures come about a week after South Korea's SK hynix, the world's second largest memory chip maker, reported record quarterly profits, thanks to soaring global demand for artificial intelligence.

The firm's South Korean rival, Samsung Electronics — a global chip and smartphone giant — on Wednesday also posted a better-than-expected 21.7 percent rise in first-quarter net profit, buoyed by strong smartphone sales.

Shipments of cosmetic and beauty products rose by 20.8 percent, while exports of agri-food products also went up by 8.6 percent.

Exports to the European Union jumped 18.4 percent to a monthly record high of $6.7 billion, while those to China also rose 3.9 percent.

But the country's shipments to the United States dropped by 6.8 percent, while overall exports of automobiles also declined 3.8 percent.

Trade minister Ahn Duk-geun said the data — particularly the increase in shipments to key markets including China and the EU despite a decline in exports to the US — is "evidence that the competitiveness of Korean exports remains solid despite external uncertainties".

Imports dropped by 2.7 percent in April, resulting in a trade surplus of $4.8 billion, down from $4.98 billion in the previous month.