South Korea pushed back against US calls for higher military spending on Friday. The country's Defense Ministry said it already spends more on defense than most American allies. Officials pointed out that South Korea puts 2.6 percent of its total economic output toward military costs. Britain spends 2.3 percent and Germany only uses 1.9 percent of their economies for defense.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants all allies to spend 5 percent of their money on military budgets. He told senators that countries need to do more to protect themselves. Hegseth said America cannot care more about other nations' safety than they do. He made similar comments at a security meeting last month.
The spending debate will likely cause arguments at next week's NATO gathering. NATO countries agreed to spend at least 2 percent back in 2014. Most members have reached that goal but President Trump wants them to go much higher. NATO's top leader expects countries to accept the new 5 percent target.
Spain's leader wrote a letter rejecting the spending increase. He called the proposal unreasonable and said it would hurt European defense cooperation. South Korea's new president might skip the NATO meeting entirely. His team wanted to meet with Trump earlier but the American leader left early from another summit.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wants all allies to spend 5 percent of their money on military budgets. He told senators that countries need to do more to protect themselves. Hegseth said America cannot care more about other nations' safety than they do. He made similar comments at a security meeting last month.
The spending debate will likely cause arguments at next week's NATO gathering. NATO countries agreed to spend at least 2 percent back in 2014. Most members have reached that goal but President Trump wants them to go much higher. NATO's top leader expects countries to accept the new 5 percent target.
Spain's leader wrote a letter rejecting the spending increase. He called the proposal unreasonable and said it would hurt European defense cooperation. South Korea's new president might skip the NATO meeting entirely. His team wanted to meet with Trump earlier but the American leader left early from another summit.
