Anadolu staff
26 June 2025•Update: 26 June 2025
ANKARA
South Korea's National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac on Thursday said that NATO's hike in defense spending carries implications for his country, as Seoul is facing US demand to increase defense spending, according to local media reports.
After returning from the NATO summit held this week in The Hague, Wi said South Korea is now facing calls from Washington to align with the global trend of increasing defense spending, Yonhap News Agency reported.
He added that the NATO agreement to increase defense spending carries implications for South Korea as well.
"That is a broader trend, and similar demands have been made to us," Wi said.
The 32 NATO member states pledged Wednesday to allocate 5% of GDP annually by 2035, including at least 3.5% for core defense expenditures and up to 1.5% for cybersecurity, critical infrastructure, and industrial capacity-building.
Last week, the South Korean Defense Ministry said that the share of its defense spending against GDP is "very high" as compared with other major US allies.
South Korea's defense spending stood at 61.2 trillion won ($44.6 billion) for this year, accounting for 2.3% of its GDP. It marked a 3.1% increase from the previous year, according to the agency.
South Korea hosts some 28,500 US soldiers, an arrangement that started in the wake of the Korean War of 1950-1953.
*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid
