Hegseth calls talk of shaky S. Korea-U.S. alliance 'fake news:' Seoul's defense minister

What happened: U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed concerns about a rift in the South Korea-U.S. alliance as "fake news," Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said after their meeting in Cebu. Why it matters: The two sides postponed their annual Security Consultative Meeting to early next year, which fueled speculation over alliance friction, including disagreement on the timing of the wartime operational control transfer. Key numbers: Kang and Hegseth met for about 40 minutes on Wednesday. Seoul aims to retake wartime OPCON before 2030.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed concerns about a rift in the South Korea-U.S. alliance as "fake news," Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said after their meeting in Cebu.

The two sides postponed their annual Security Consultative Meeting to early next year, which fueled speculation over alliance friction, including disagreement on the timing of the wartime operational control transfer. Key numbers: Kang and Hegseth met for about 40 minutes on Wednesday. Seoul aims to retake wartime OPCON before 2030.