Lee proposes defense spending increase during post-summit speech in Washington

President Lee Jae Myung signaled Monday in Washington that South Korea will increase defense spending as Seoul takes on a more leading role in maintaining security on the Korean Peninsula.

Korean President Lee Jae Myung, left, speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington on Aug. 25, as CSIS President and CEO John Hamre listens. [AP/YONHAP]

President Lee Jae Myung signaled Monday in Washington that South Korea will increase defense spending as Seoul takes on a more leading role in maintaining security on the Korean Peninsula.

Lee said in a policy speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank in Washington after his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump that the increased defense budget will be used to acquire cutting-edge technologies and assets to develop the capabilities of the South Korean military.

This comes as NATO countries pledged to increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035 amid pressure from the Trump administration for allies to pay more.

"At the summit meeting, President Trump and I agreed to modernize our bilateral alliance to be more reciprocal and future-oriented in line with the changing security landscape," Lee said.

Lee also said that Trump expressed his intention to "actively support South Korea's efforts to strengthen our national defense capabilities and to further expand cooperation in advanced defense industries between South Korea and the United States."

Lee highlighted that the trade deal sealed by Seoul and Washington at the end of July lowering intended tariff rates for Korea's investment in the the United States "will serve as a stepping stone to strengthen advanced technology cooperation between our two countries."

"The K-shipbuilding industry, equipped with the world's strongest capabilities, will bring about a renaissance of the U.S. shipbuilding industry and create a new historic turning point for the mutual prosperity of both countries," Lee added.

He also pledged to further strengthen the trilateral cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the United States together with Trump, "based on an ironclad Korea-U.S. alliance."

"Building on our security and economic alliance, I am committed to opening a new chapter of pragmatic alliance centered on national interests together with President Trump," Lee said.

Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington on Aug. 25. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

After his speech at the Statemen's Forum, the president also took questions from John Hamre, president and CEO of CSIS, on the South's position on North Korea's nuclear and missile threat, how Lee he for his summit with Trump and the intensifying U.S.-China rivalry.

Lee acknowledged that South Korea traditionally relied on the United States for security and China for the economy but that has changed due to the changing supply chain situation.

"South Korea is no longer in a position to act or make decisions that deviate from the fundamental policies of the United States," Lee said, while noting that the relationship with China has to be maintained, taking into consideration geographical proximity.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]