KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 15 — The day dreaded by fans of K-pop icon BTS has come with the band's oldest member embarking on his mandatory South Korean military duty.

When Kim Seok-jin, better known as Jin, turned up at the recruit training centre on Tuesday (December 13), the 30-year-old was accompanied by BTS' six other members.

Some 270 policemen were also deployed to the site in anticipation of a huge crowd of fans at the centre, 8 days reported.

However, in reality, only a handful turned up to wish Jin luck.

Most of them headed to the recruit training centre earlier to put up encouragement banners for their idol.

The band's agency had earlier announced that the singer will enter the grounds of the recruit training centre "without greeting the media or fans separately” out of respect for the entrance ceremony as well as the other recruits and their families.

BTS announced in June that it would pause its touring schedule as members serve mandatory military service.

With his enlistment, Jin will now go through five weeks of bootcamp training, CBS News reported.

He is expected to be assigned to a front-line unit near the tense border with North Korea upon the completion of his training.