The head of South Korea's central bank said Monday that Seoul should brace for a possible rate hike this month in the United States.

Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol called on officials to come up with countermeasures over a rate hike, noting the US Federal Reserve could quicken the pace of monetary policy normalization.

His comments came days after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said an improving job market and rising inflation could prompt the US central bank to raise interest rates.

On Friday in Chicago, Yellen said the Fed will likely resume raising borrowing costs later this month to reflect a strengthening job market and inflation edging toward the central bank's 2 percent target rate, according to the Associated Press.

Last month, the BOK maintained its policy rate at an all-time low of 1.25 percent for the eighth consecutive month to support growth ahead of additional US rate hikes this year.

In December, the US Federal Reserve raised its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a target range of 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent. The Fed is widely expected to raise the rate three more times throughout 2017. (Yonhap)