NATO Chief: European Military Buildup Sustains U.S. Jobs; South Korea's Defense Industry is Fantastic

Mark Rutte, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has claimed that the trend of military buildup in Europe is sustaining approximately 195,000 defense industry jobs in the United States.

Amid pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has mentioned the possibility of the U.S. withdrawing from NATO and demanded that Europe increase its defense spending, Rutte highlighted that the NATO alliance also brings significant economic benefits to the U.S.

In an interview with the British daily Financial Times (FT) on June 30 (local time), Secretary General Rutte stated, "The backlog of weapons orders that Europe and Canada have committed to purchasing from the U.S. over the coming years totals 300 billion dollars (approximately 465 trillion won)," adding, "This has the effect of sustaining 195,000 jobs in the U.S."

Rutte explained that NATO's defense spending has increased by 250 billion dollars (approximately 387 trillion won) over the past two years, and urged U.S. and European defense companies to "not raise prices and to increase production speed."

European defense spending has surged due to a combination of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and President Trump's strong demands that "if Europe does not increase defense spending, the U.S. will withdraw its military protection."

While emphasizing the importance of the U.S. defense industry, Rutte pointed out that delays in weapon deliveries to Europe are occurring because U.S. stockpiles have plummeted due to factors such as the prolonged war with Iran, and production volumes are being prioritized for delivery to the Gulf region.

He mentioned that because of this phenomenon, some European allies are looking outside of NATO, stating, "They are buying weapons from South Korea."

Secretary General Rutte remarked, "I love South Korea, and South Korea has a fantastic defense industrial base," adding, "Of course, the reason they are buying South Korean weapons is that even if they want to buy products from NATO member countries, the current NATO defense production capacity cannot support it," thereby urging the Western defense industry to wake up.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.