The Korean military said Tuesday that there is "zero possibility" for singer Yoo Seung-jun to recover his Korean citizenship or reenter Korea, after he was deported 13 years ago over controversies about his suspected evasion of military service.

Yoo was a popular K-pop singer who debuted in 1997. Yoo’s musical career came to an abrupt halt when he chose not to enlist for mandatory military duty.

Korean-American Yoo originally announced plans to enlist in 2002, but renounced his Korean citizenship after he became a naturalized U.S. citizen about three months before his scheduled enlistment.

Singer-actor Yoo Seung-jun (Yonhap)

Mandatory military service is a sensitive issue in Korea, where all able-bodied men are required to enlist for about two years in a country that is still technically at war with North Korea.

Yoo plans to hold a live Q&A interview Tuesday evening, talking in-depth about his reasons for not enlisting, interviewed by Korean film director Shin Hyeon-won.

The interview announcement last week immediately drew an icy response from Korean military officials, who reiterated its stance that Korea would not lift the ban against the exiled singer.

Deputy military spokesperson Kim Yong-doo said, "There is not even a 0.001 percent that the ban against Yoo will be lifted.

"National law clearly states that those who attempt to evade their military service by acquiring foreign citizenship cannot recover their Korean citizenship. There is no value or plan to further discuss this matter," said Kim.

Yoo currently resides in China, where he has started a secondary career as an actor. He previously won widespread success in Korea with K-pop singles like "Na Na Na" and "Nightmare."

Yoo's live interview will be broadcast from Hong Kong on Afreeca.com/shinpro on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m.

By Yoon Sarah (sarah356@heraldcorp.com)