BTS will release their new album on 20 March.
The K-pop group have reunited following their mandatory military service and have now confirmed when their first album since Proof was released in June 2022 will drop.
Selected members of the official BTS ARMY fan club received handwritten notes, which confirmed the date of the record's release, and media outlets in South Korea have also independently confirmed the news.
Among the messages shared on line, Jin wrote: “I greeted you all as a soloist in 2023 and 2024, but I can finally greet you as part of a team again.”
J-Hope declared it is "the year that we will all be together with you", while RM admitted he had been “waiting for this moment more desperately than anyone.”
Jungkook added: “Please take good care of us this year as well.”
In November, RM teased the group's new music is "really coming out great".
He posted on X: “Above all, the music is really coming out great!! Everyone is working hard. Look forward to it. 2026 Bulletproof Army Fighting”
In October, RM, V and J-hope headed to W Korea‘s Love Your W breast cancer charity event in Seoul, South Korea, and were quizzed on when fans can expect their long-awaited comeback.
As quoted by NME, RM said: “We have to keep preparing for the album — we’ll shoot the album photos and film the music video. Please look forward to late March.”
J-hope quipped: “It’s been a while — should we start dance practice again?”
To which, RM playfully replied: “Let’s start tomorrow."
During a special livestream in July, the band revealed to their fans - known as the ARMY - that they were working on a new album, set for release in spring 2026, with a world tour to follow.
They said: “We’ll be releasing a new BTS album in the spring of next year. Starting in July, all seven of us will begin working closely together on new music. Since it will be a group album, it will reflect each member’s thoughts and ideas.
"We’re approaching the album with the same mindset we had when we first started. We’re also planning a world tour alongside the new album.
"We’ll be visiting fans all around the world, so we hope you’re as excited as we are.”
RM also said BTS had been working "diligently" on their next full-length release.
In a message to fans on the platform Weverse, he said: "It's already been a little over two months since I was discharged from the military.
"I'm from faraway Los Angeles. I live, work, and play with the members. It's a really strange experience. It feels 'Bon Voyage Pyeongchang.' It's weird already, right... Anyway, I feel like I'm working diligently somewhere.
"Making something 'together' with these friends, I'm going to commit myself to this moment. I'm going to thank you. It's our next album.
"I'm looking for what I'll become. Something I've forgotten for too long, the moments that are far away together. I hope that it will be a kind of beauty."
The group also includes Suga and Jimin.
