U.S. President Donald Trump meets with Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, unseen, during the NATO summit at The Grove, Dec. 4, 2019, in Watford, England. AP-Yonhap

Incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's team has told European officials that he will demand North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states raise their defense spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the Financial Times reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Trump's closest foreign policy aides shared his intentions in discussions with senior European officials this month, the newspaper said, amid expectations that he could call on Korea and other allies to increase their defense spending and take greater responsibilities for their security.

Currently, NATO has a guideline calling for its member states to commit 2 percent of their GDP to defense spending. The guideline was agreed upon by leaders of the NATO members in 2014.

Seoul and other U.S. allies have been bracing for the possibility that when he returns to office next month, Trump could reorient America's foreign policy based on his America First credo that is expected to see Washington curtail costly overseas military involvement and call for allies to do more to address shared challenges.

Some observers have said that Trump could call for renegotiation of a new defense cost-sharing deal with Korea, called the Special Measures Agreement (SMA).

In October, Seoul and Washington struck the 12th SMA to determine Seoul's share of the cost for the stationing of the 28,500-strong U.S. Forces Korea (USFK). Under the deal that will last through 2030, Seoul is to pay 1.52 trillion won ($1.04 billion) in 2026, up from 1.4 trillion won in 2025.

After the conclusion of SMA negotiations, Trump said in a campaign speech that Korea would be paying "$10 billion a year" for the stationing of USFK if he was in the White House. He also described the Asian ally as a "money machine." (Yonhap)