South Korea has finalized a 7.5% increase in its defense budget to 65.86 trillion won ($44.8 billion) for the next fiscal year, according to the defense ministry, as Seoul looks to take greater responsibility for defending against North Korea under pressure from the U.S.

The National Assembly approved the spending plan late Tuesday, cutting 430.5 billion won ($293 million) from the Lee Jae Myung administration’s original request following a bipartisan agreement between the ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition People Power Party.

The final rate is lower than the 8.2% increaseinitially sought by the government, but still