South Korea’s defense ministry has pushed back against calls from Washington for allies to sharply raise military spending, stressing that Seoul already has one of the highest defense spending rates among U.S. partners and continues to boost its budget to counter North Korean threats.

The remarks come in response to a call from U.S. Secretary for Defense Pete Hegseth for American allies — including South Korea — to raise their defense spending to 5% of GDP as part of the Trump administration’s push to increase “burden sharing.” 

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell reportedlytold media on Thursday that this spending