South Korea kept its cautious stance over rising volatility in the won/dollar exchange rate, confirming additional measures to curb cross-border capital flows may be imminent to be taken.

"Domestically, uncertainties remain over consumption, currency volatility and facility investment," the finance ministry said in Green Book, the monthly assessment report of economic conditions, on Thursday.

The ministry maintained its cautiousness over currency volatility by mentioning the won/dollar exchange rate in the report. It commented on the rate in January for the first time since October 2010, indicating the government's serious recognition over the won's ascent against the U.S. dollar.

Deputy Finance Minister Choi Jong-ku said last week the South Korean government was weighing taxes on bonds and currency trading to limit speculative inflow of foreign capital. Choi denied the adoption of the so-called Tobin Tax in its traditional form, worrying about the possibly unintended side effects.

The tax was devised by and named after Nobel Laureate U.S. economist James Tobin in 1972 to reduce currency fluctuation by levying a small tax on all spot currency trading. A total of 26 South Korean lawmakers proposed in November last year to adopt the tax with a low rate in ordinary times and a super-high rate under the crisis.

On the external front, the ministry picked the U.S. negotiation on automatic fiscal spending cuts and the delayed recovery in Europe as destabilizing factors.

South Korea's exports rose 11.8 percent in January from a year before after falling 5.7 percent in the prior month, but the January growth missed market estimates. Employment grew at a slower pace for three straight months in December, and retail sales declined in the same month amid the fragile domestic demand.