BTS looks to reunite this year as 2 more members finish their military service

CHUNCHEON, South Korea (AP) — K-pop superstars RM and V are the latest members of BTS to be discharged from South Korea's military after fulfilling their mandatory service.

They each saluted upon their release Tuesday in Chuncheon City as about 200 fans, some of whom traveled from Mexico, Turkey and Brazil, cheered.

Reina Lorena Quintero Sevilla spent nearly 18 hours on a plane from Mexico City. "I swear, it didn’t feel that long because we’re so excited to be here, to watch the boys get released, excited to be in South Korea, in the hometowns of our boys, who we love, who we adore,” she said.

RM and V began their service in December 2023, while three other BTS members — Jin, J-Hope and Suga — were already months into their conscription.

Jin, the oldest member of the K-pop supergroup, was discharged from the army in June 2024. J-Hope was discharged in October. Jimin and JungKook are scheduled to be discharged Wednesday.

The seventh member, Suga, is fulfilling his duty as a social service agent, an alternative to military service. He is to be released later this month.

The seven BTS members plan to reunite as a group sometime in 2025.

In South Korea, all able-bodied men aged 18 to 28 are required by law to perform 18-21 months of military service under a conscription system meant to deter aggression from rival North Korea.

The law gives special exemptions to athletes, classical and traditional musicians, and ballet and other dancers if they have obtained top prizes in certain competitions and are assessed to have enhanced national prestige. K-pop stars and other entertainers aren’t subject to such privileges.

The BTS members were able to postpone their service, however, after the National Assembly revised the Military Service Act, allowing K-pop stars to delay their enlistment until age 30.

There was heated public debate over whether to offer special exemptions for BTS members, until the group’s management agency announced in 2022 that all seven members would fulfill their duties.

Sherman reported from New York.

K-pop band BTS members RM, bottom, and V react after being discharged from a mandatory military service in Chuncheon, South Korea, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

K-pop band BTS members RM, left, and V react after being discharged from a mandatory military service in Chuncheon, South Korea, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Fans wait for arrival of K-pop band BTS members RM and V before they are discharged from a mandatory military service in Chuncheon, South Korea, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Fans wait for arrival of K-pop band BTS members RM and V before they are discharged from a mandatory military service in Chuncheon, South Korea, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

K-pop band BTS members RM, left, and V salute after being discharged from a mandatory military service in Chuncheon, South Korea, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

K-pop band BTS members RM, left, and V salute after being discharged from a mandatory military service in Chuncheon, South Korea, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)