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Wi Seong-rak, South Korea’s national security adviser, meets with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in The Hague on June 24, during the NATO summit. Wi attended the summit on behalf of President Lee Jae-myung. / Source: Presidential Office

Wi Seong-rak, South Korea’s national security adviser, said on June 26 that the recent NATO agreement to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035 is reflective of similar demands being placed on South Korea.

Speaking at a briefing from the presidential office in Yongsan, Wi said, “A key theme of the NATO summit was raising defense budgets, and NATO has agreed to set a 5% target. That’s the current trend, and there are similar expectations placed on us.”

Wi added that Seoul and Washington are still coordinating their positions. “We’ve agreed to stay flexible across the two negotiation tracks to find common ground as we prepare for a summit between the two leaders,” he said.

The comments follow Wi’s participation in the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, on June 24–25 on behalf of President Lee Jae-myung. During the summit, Wi met with U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, where they agreed on the need to push forward a South Korea–U.S. summit at an early date.

Wi noted that U.S. President Donald Trump also reiterated his keen interest in cooperation in South Korea’s shipbuilding sector during the summit.

He further revealed that South Korea and NATO agreed to establish a new working-level consultative body focused on defense industry cooperation.

Describing the outcome of his meeting with Rubio, Wi said, “There was mutual understanding that a Korea-U.S. summit should be held soon. We haven’t pinned down a date yet, but there was consensus on moving quickly. That alone can be considered a success.”

He added that ongoing bilateral negotiations on trade and security issues would serve as a foundation for a productive summit, and both sides agreed to maintain close communication moving forward.

Wi also gave a brief account of his conversation with President Trump. “I had a short talk with President Trump, and once again it became clear how much interest he has in cooperation with Korea’s shipbuilding industry,” he said.

However, Wi clarified that no detailed discussion on tariffs took place during this trip.