Photo : YONHAP News
Robert O’Brien, who served as a national security adviser to former U.S. President Donald Trump, has urged South Korea to dramatically increase its defense spending.
O’Brien expressed that view Thursday in a forum on security threats from China hosted by the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute.
The former national security adviser stressed the need for Seoul to raise its defense spending to between three percent and three-and-a-half percent of its gross domestic product(GDP), saying Japan has greatly increased its defense spending while South Korea spends just two-point-five percent of its GDP on defense.
O’Brien also said the U.S. needs to “get back in the nuclear game,” adding that not only are China and Russia’s nuclear programs advancing, but so are those of Iran and North Korea.
Discussing trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, O’Brien gave the Biden administration credit for the 2023 Camp David summit near Washington.
However, he said the Trump administration laid the groundwork for the summit.