US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth brushed off concerns over a perceived growing rift in the South Korea-US alliance as "fake news," Defense Minister Kang Shin-c. Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul (R) poses with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during their bilateral talks ahead of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus in Cebu, the Philippines, on Wednesday, in this photo provided by South Korea's defense ministry.