A South Korean military conscript who killed five members of his unit was captured Monday after shooting himself in the side following a tense 24-hour standoff, the defence ministry said.
“He shot himself in the side and we have captured him alive,” a ministry spokesman told AFP, adding that the 22-year-old sergeant had been taken to hospital.
Thousands of soldiers backed by special forces units and army helicopters had surrounded the conscript, identified by his family name Lim, after he was tracked down Sunday afternoon to a forested area south of the heavily militarised frontier with North Korea.
Armed with a K-2 assault rifle and a stash of ammunition, Lim went on the run Saturday night after killing five fellow soldiers at a frontline border outpost.
Prior to turning his gun on himself, Lim had spoken via a mobile phone with his parents who had urged him to surrender.