BTS have officially been announced as the ambassadors for the World Expo 2030 in Busan, Korea by the expo’s Bid Committee.

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The appointment was announced by BTS’ management HYBE’s headquarters in Seoul on July 19. BTS leader RM also made a statement in a press release to Billboard, saying: “We are honoured to be appointed ambassadors for World Expo 2030 Busan. BTS will do our best to support in bringing the World Expo 2030 to Busan”. RM added that the band members would also be carrying out ambassador duties during the event.

“We will also make extra efforts to not only support the nation’s bid, but also promote the beautiful nature and culture of the Republic of Korea worldwide,” RM promised in his statement.

Korean Prime Minister Han Duk-soo thanked the group for taking on the role of ambassadors for the country. “We believe that BTS will take the most pivotal role during the process. With support from BTS and our people, we will be able to achieve our goal,” Han said.

Last month, it was also announced that the K-pop group will play a concert in October to boost Korea’s bid to host the expo in 2030. The group’s performance will take place at the Global Busan Concert, though further details such as ticketing and date have yet to be announced.

BTS are taking time to “explore some solo projects” according to a representative for the group, who confirmed the band are on hiatus last month. BTS rapper J-Hope was the first to release new solo material in the wake of the announcement, dropping his debut solo album, ‘Jack In The Box’ earlier this month.

J-Hope was quick to dispel rumours that BTS are disbanding, calling it a “temporary break”. “I was a little surprised that people took it in a different way than how we expected them to receive or understand that news,” he said, adding, “I think there was a little bit of loss in translation as we conveyed that message. And definitely we’re not on hiatus. The team is going to remain active. We just learned a lot and we grew together as a team over the last decade.”

RM has also addressed the rumours of disbandment with a statement earlier this month that said the perception that the group were disbanding was caused by “aggressive keywords taken out of context”, adding that “misinterpretations” regarding the band’s future had “left a bitter feeling in my heart”. He emphasised: “This is not the end for us.”