During BTS’ FESTA dinner, which is part of an annual celebration of their founding, the group announced that they are going on a break to focus on solo projects and explained that they need the time to take an extended break.

“To be clear, they are not on hiatus but will take time to explore some solo projects at this time and remain active in various different formats,” a representative for the band said.

The FESTA dinner was scheduled to celebrate the founding of the Grammy-nominated group, which is made up of the 7 members RM, Jungkook, Jin, Jimin, Suga, J-Hope, and V.

During the conversation, RM said that while they had achieved a lot as a group, however as individual members they needed to grow and mature as individuals.

Towards the end of the dinner, several of the members of the group were growing tearful as they showed thanks to their fans, the “ARMY.”

The news caused anxiety among fans, but Suga later reassured fans that BTS was not “disbanding – we’re just living apart for a while”.

The news comes just days after the group released Proof, the bands latest anthology album that included a new single, Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment).

According to the members, there are plans in place for solo releases from J-Hope and Suga, who have both previously released solo mixtapes. Jungkook also shared he will be releasing a solo album.

Although the group did not disclose release dates for their solo projects, the confirmation of a new project from J-Hope will be matched with his upcoming performance as the first South Korean artist to headline the main stage of any major U.S festival.