US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and North Atlantic Treaty Organization Secretary General Mark Rutte discussed the importance of having "capable" defense allies and "real" burden sharing during a call this week, the State Department said Thursday.
Rubio spoke with Rutte on Wednesday, Tammy Bruce, the department's spokesperson, said, as US President Donald Trump has been seeking to have NATO member states raise their defense spending to 5 percent of their gross domestic product -- much higher than the current 2 percent guideline of the transatlantic treaty organization.
"Secretary Rubio reinforced the US commitment to NATO and the continued importance of the Alliance to international security," Bruce said in a readout. "The Secretary and Secretary General Rutte discussed the importance of having capable defense Allies and real burden sharing."
How the second Trump administration will deal with the NATO alliance has been keenly watched in South Korea amid lingering speculation that it could also call for Seoul to increase its share of the cost for the stationing of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea.
In October, Seoul and Washington struck a defense cost-sharing deal, called the Special Measures Agreement. Under the deal for the 2026-2030 period, Seoul is to pay 1.52 trillion won ($1.06 billion) next year, up from 1.4 trillion won this year.
After the conclusion of SMA negotiations, Trump said in a campaign speech that South Korea would be paying $10 billion a year for the stationing of USFK if he was in the White House. He also described the Asian ally as a "money machine."
In their talks, Rubio and Rutte agreed that the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific are "inextricably" linked and on the need for greater cooperation and understanding between regions, according to Bruce.
They also discussed the importance of ending Russia's war against Ukraine and the need for a "peaceful" solution, she said. (Yonhap)
