U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth has indicated that Washington intends to reward “model allies” that take on greater responsibility for their own defense.

Hegseth voiced the position on Saturday during a speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum near Los Angeles, referring to South Korea, Israel and Poland as “model allies” that have met U.S. calls for higher defense expenditures.

The war secretary added that those allies will receive “special favor” from Washington.

Hegseth noted that South Korea has pledged to increase its defense spending to three-point-five percent of its gross domestic product and to take a leading role in its own conventional defense, a commitment reflected in the joint fact sheet released after last month’s summit between the two countries.

At the same time, Hegseth cautioned that allies that continue to fall short in upholding their share of the defense burden will face consequences.