Trump arrives at The Hague to attend NATO Summit

Meanwhile in the Netherlands. Leaders of NATO including U.S. President Donald Trump are gathered for their annual security talks there this week amid concerns raised by a recent comment by Trump regarding his commitment to the alliance's mutual defense clause. Lee Seung-jae explains. U.S. President Donald Trump arrived at The Hague on Tuesday, and began his official activities for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit. Leaders and officials from 32 countries, including President Trump, are scheduled to hold a plenary session of the North Atlantic Council on Wednesday, local time, with a press conference scheduled for later that afternoon. The joint statement of this year's summit is expected to include an agreement that all member countries will eventually spend five percent of their GDP on defense, something the U.S. leader has been pushing for. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Tuesday that he has "no doubt" that the U.S. is committed to NATO's Article 5 mutual defense clause. The comment came as Trump raised renewed doubts about his willingness to protect U.S. allies. When asked by a reporter on his way to The Hague, whether he's still committed to Article 5, which states that an armed attack against one or more of its members would be considered an attack against all NATO member states, he gave a rather ambiguous answer. "Depends on your definition. There are numerous definitions of Article Five. You know that, right? But I'm committed to being their friend. I've become friends with many of those leaders, and I'm committed to helping them." Trump has, however, decided not to attend a special meeting with the Indo-Pacific 4, or IP4 countries, including South Korea. According to NATO officials, the U.S.-NATO-IP4 meeting scheduled for Wednesday, has been changed to a NATO-IP4 format. One official said Trump's non-participation was due to scheduling issues. Meanwhile, with a major focus on NATO's defense spending this year, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to meet the target of 5 percent of the UK's GDP by 2035. All NATO member countries are also expected to agree to spending 3-point-5 percent on core defense issues, and the remaining 1-point-5 percent on other defense-related areas, such as resilience and security. Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.