BTS have confirmed that their new album will be released on 20 March.

The K pop supergroup have officially reunited following the completion of their mandatory military service and have now locked in a date for their first album since Proof arrived in June 2022.

Members of the official BTS ARMY fan club were sent handwritten letters revealing the release date, with South Korean media outlets also independently verifying the announcement.

Among the notes shared online, 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 described 2026 as “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.”

Back in November, RM hinted that new material from the group was shaping up well.

He wrote 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 attended W Korea’s Love Your W breast cancer charity event in Seoul, South Korea, where they were asked when fans could expect the group’s long awaited return.

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 joked, “It’s been a while should we start dance practice again?”

RM responded with a smile, “Let’s start tomorrow.”

During a special livestream in July, the band told their fans, known as the ARMY, that they were working on a new album planned for release in spring 2026, alongside a global tour.

They shared, “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 the group had been working “diligently” on their next full length project.

Writing to fans on 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’s lineup also includes Suga and Jimin.