The White House has hinted that the U.S. will likely demand a significant increase in defense spending from its Asian allies, after the members of NATO agreed to raise their defense spending to five percent of gross domestic product(GDP) by 2035.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that if her country’s allies in Europe and in NATO can raise their defense spending, the country’s Asian allies can do it too.

Leavitt made the remark when asked if the NATO agreement will affect the United States’ negotiations with its Asian allies.
  
On Wednesday the leaders of the 32 NATO member nations announced an agreement to boost defense spending to five percent of GDP by 2035 in a joint statement adopted after NATO’s annual summit in The Hague, Netherlands. 

According to the defense ministry, South Korea’s defense budget for this year stands at 61-point-25 trillion won, or about 45 billion U.S. dollars, which is two-point-32 percent of its GDP.