Elbridge Colby, the U.S. Ministry of National Defense policy Vice Minister, said on the 14th (local time) that Korea's announcement that it would increase defense expenditure to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) makes it "a real model ally."
Vice Minister Colby stated accordingly in congratulatory remarks at the reception for Korea's national day and the Armed Forces Day held that day at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., saying, "Among the United States' treaty allies outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Korea is the first ally to promise to meet the '3.5% of defense spending' standard that President Trump presented at the NATO summit in The Hague."
In the joint summit fact sheet released the previous day, the United States and Korea specified that Korea would increase defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, and the U.S. Ministry of National Defense policy Vice Minister raised it again and assessed it as "exemplary."
Colby, a close aide to U.S. President Donald Trump and a security policy expert, said, "President Lee Jae-myung and Korea are showing commitment not just in words but through actual budgets, actions, and sincerity," adding, "This alliance is a future-oriented alliance."