BTS makes their comeback official by announcing a world tour

K-pop band BTS has officially announced their return as a septet with the release of a new album and the start of a world tour next spring , which will mark their first group activities after completing mandatory military service .

"Starting in July, we'll start working together and focusing on making music ," said the group 's leader, RM , during a live broadcast on Tuesday on the Weverse platform.

"The new album will be released in the spring ," he added, explaining that the recording will take place in the United States and that the world tour will also begin that same season.

It will be their first joint album since 'Proof' (2022) and their return to the stage as a full group after their last concert in Busan that same year.

Although the exact timeline has yet to be specified, local newspaper The Korea Herald quoted a source from Hybe himself in June as saying the group will return specifically in March 2026.

Meanwhile, Jin began a solo world tour at the end of June , which will end in August in Amsterdam.

Additionally, on July 18, the band will release their first live album, 'Permission to Dance on Stage - Live,' which includes 22 songs recorded during their 2021-2022 tour in Seoul , Los Angeles , and Las Vegas .

Since their debut in 2013 , BTS has topped charts like the Billboard Hot 100 with songs like 'Dynamite' and 'Butter', and has brought K-pop to US stadiums like SoFi in Los Angeles and the Allegiant in Las Vegas , on a tour that reached more than 4 million viewers across different platforms.

• With its members ' military careers now complete, BTS is entering its " second phase " with a distinct artistic maturity .

According to Hong Seok-kyeong , director of the Center for Hallyu Studies at Seoul National University and author of the book ' BTS on the Road', the group will leave behind the teenage narrative that catapulted them to fame to explore a more adult vision, both lyrically and visually .

"Once someone returns from military service in South Korea , they are treated as adults . They will graduate from the adolescent growth spurt and move on to an independent adult world," the expert explained in a recent interview with the Japanese newspaper Mainichi .

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