Denmark said Wednesday it would raise its defence spending by $5.9 billion over five years to boost its military capacity, a hike that will take it past NATO's spending target.

"The government plans to increase defence spending by a total of 40.5 billion kroner between 2024 and 2028," the defence ministry wrote in a statement, putting the country's defence spending at 2.4 percent of GDP in 2024, over NATO's two percent target, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said.