Since his first administration, President Donald Trump has stressed the need for U.S. allies to take on more of the burden to offset what he has said are decades of them taking advantage of the United States.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that many countries appeared to be on track to agree to spending 5% of gross domestic product on their security needs.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday he was confident that members of the NATO alliance would sign up to Donald Trump's demand for a major boost in defence spending, adding that it had to happen by a summit later in June.