Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will hold their first bilateral talks in the Philippines this week ahead of a ministerial meeting led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a source familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Kang and Hegseth are expected to meet one-on-one on Wednesday, a day ahead of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) Plus plenary in Cebu, according to the source. It will mark their first sit-down since Kang assumed office in September. Kang is scheduled to depart for Cebu on Tuesday to attend the high-level regional security dialogue and hold a series of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the participating countries, the defense ministry said in a release. Kang's upcoming talks with Hegseth come as the allies face a host of pending defense and alliance issues to work out, particularly Seoul's efforts to retake wartime operational control (OPCON) from Washington. The Lee Jae Myung administration seeks to regain wartime OPCON before its five-year term ends in 2030, or even earlier. Washington, howeve