Defense minister says Hegseth dismissed talk of alliance strains as 'fake news'

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said Friday in Seoul that U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called speculation about strains in the Korea-U.S. alliance “fake news” during their meeting Wednesday in Cebu, Philippines. Kang said the two sides had no disagreements and that the talk could not shake the alliance. They agreed to meet again in Washington in December and postpone the annual Security Consultative Meeting until early next year. Kang said they agreed to work together on wartime operational control transfer but did not confirm a proposed 2028 target.

The Cebu meeting lasted about 40 minutes, compared with the 15 minutes initially scheduled.

Kang did not directly answer whether Washington agreed to complete full operational capability verification for the operational control transfer at the next Security Consultative Meeting.

Kang said reported limits on intelligence sharing concerning North Korea affected only a small portion of military intelligence exchanges.

Kang said intelligence-sharing restrictions were not discussed at Wednesday’s meeting.

Published Oct 30, 2026 11:43 am KST

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul, right, poses with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during their meeting on the sidelines of the 13th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Cebu, Philippines, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of National Defense

Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul said Friday that U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had dismissed recent speculation about strains in the Korea-U.S. alliance as “fake news” during their meeting earlier this week.

Kang made the remarks to reporters as he arrived at the defense ministry in Seoul after attending the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) in the Philippines.

Asked whether the two sides had any disagreements, Kang said there were none.

“Secretary Hegseth dismissed all the talk going around as ‘fake news,’” Kang said. “And I agree with him.”

“I don’t believe such talk can shake the strength of the Korea-U.S. alliance, nor should it,” he added.

Kang and Hegseth held their first face-to-face meeting Wednesday in Cebu, Philippines, on the sidelines of ADMM-Plus. The meeting lasted about 40 minutes, longer than the 15 minutes initially scheduled.

Their talks came amid concerns about the state of the alliance, including the postponement of the annual Security Consultative Meeting (SCM), differences over the timeline for transferring wartime operational control (OPCON) and reports of restrictions on intelligence sharing.

The two sides agreed to hold another defense ministers’ meeting in Washington in December and postpone the SCM until early next year.

Asked whether Washington had agreed to complete the full operational capability (FOC) verification for the OPCON transfer at the next SCM, Kang stopped short of giving a direct answer.

“The biggest achievement was that we agreed to work together on the OPCON transfer,” he said.

He also declined to confirm whether the U.S. had agreed to Seoul’s proposed 2028 target for the transfer.

On reports that Washington had restricted some intelligence sharing with Seoul concerning North Korea, Kang played down the issue, saying it affected only a small portion of military intelligence exchanges.

He said the matter was not discussed during Wednesday’s meeting, reiterating that the talks had reaffirmed the strength of the alliance.

韩国国防部长康信哲周五在首尔表示，美国战争部长皮特·赫格塞斯周三在菲律宾宿务与韩国国防部长会晤时，称有关韩美同盟关系紧张的猜测是“假新闻”。康信哲表示，双方并无分歧，此次会谈不会动摇韩美同盟。双方同意于12月在华盛顿再次会晤，并将年度安全磋商会议推迟至明年初举行。康信哲表示，双方同意就战时作战指挥权移交问题开展合作，但并未确认此前提出的2028年移交目标。

宿务会议持续了约 40 分钟，而原计划只有 15 分钟。

康没有直接回答华盛顿是否同意在下次安全磋商会议上完成作战控制权移交的全面作战能力核查。

康表示，据报道，有关朝鲜情报共享的限制只影响了一小部分军事情报交流。

康表示，周三的会议上没有讨论情报共享限制问题。

发布于2026年10月30日上午11:43（韩国标准时间）

韩国国防部长康信哲（右）周三在菲律宾宿务举行的第十三届东盟防长扩大会议期间与美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯会晤。图片由韩国国防部提供。

韩国国防部长康信哲周五表示，美国战争部长皮特·赫格塞斯在本周早些时候的会晤中驳斥了有关韩美同盟关系紧张的近期猜测，称其为“假新闻”。

康在出席完菲律宾举行的东盟防长扩大会议（ADMM-Plus）后抵达首尔国防部，并向记者发表了上述言论。

当被问及双方是否存在分歧时，康表示没有。

康说：“赫格塞斯部长驳斥了所有流言蜚语，称其为‘假新闻’。我同意他的看法。”

“我不认为这样的言论会动摇韩美同盟的牢固性，也不应该动摇，”他补充道。

康和赫格塞斯周三在菲律宾宿务举行的东盟扩大会议期间举行了首次面对面会晤。会晤持续了约40分钟，比原定的15分钟要长。

他们的会谈是在人们对联盟现状表示担忧的背景下进行的，这些担忧包括推迟年度安全磋商会议（SCM）、在移交战时作战控制（OPCON）时间表上的分歧以及有关情报共享受到限制的报道。

双方同意于12月在华盛顿再次举行国防部长会议，并将战略武器会议推迟到明年年初。

当被问及华盛顿是否同意在下次战略指挥会议（SCM）上完成作战能力（FOC）移交的全面作战能力（FOC）验证时，康没有直接回答。

他说：“最大的成就是我们同意共同合作进行运营控制权移交。”

他还拒绝证实美国是否同意首尔提出的 2028 年转移目标。

针对有报道称华盛顿限制了与首尔就朝鲜问题进行的一些情报共享，康表示，这只影响了一小部分军事情报交流。

他表示，周三的会议上没有讨论此事，并重申会谈巩固了联盟的实力。