AKIPRESS.COM - The US President Donald Trump said in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan that he is requesting more than $5 billion in additional defense spending to counter the North Korean threat and to fund military operations in Afghanistan.

"I ask the Congress to consider the enclosed Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 Budget amendments for the Department of Defense," the letter said. "The request includes an additional $4.0 billion to support urgent missile defeat and defense enhancements to counter the threat from North Korea, $0.7 billion to repair damage to US Navy ships, and $1.2 billion in support of my Administration's South Asia strategy."

The additional $4 billion to counter the threat from North Korea will be spend on efforts that "detect, defeat, and defend" the United States against any use of ballistic missiles by Pyongyang, Sputnik reported.

The Trump administration plans to send an additional 3,500 troops to Afghanistan, and the $1.2 billion requested for the budget will be used to fund that increase and other special operations needs in South Asia.

The additional $0.7 billion would be spent to repair the USS John S. McCain and USS Fitzgerald, which were damaged in deadly collisions and require extensive repairs.