As the second summit between North Korea and the U.S. proceeds, the Bank of Korea froze the benchmark interest rate for a third consecutive month amid lingering economic uncertainties at home and abroad.

The central bank’s monetary policy board on Thursday decided to keep the base rate at one-point-75 percent for February, following a quarter percentage point hike made last November. 

The bank sat tight as it assesses possible key rate hikes in the U.S. and other conditions affecting the global economy, such as trade spats between the U.S. and China and Britain's withdrawal from the European Union.