SEOUL – The South Korean military has sought to secure the surrender of a cornered fugitive conscript who killed five fellow soldiers in a shooting spree on the border with North Korea.
Initial media reports the 23-year-old sergeant had been captured after a stand-off with thousands of soldiers overnight were denied by the defence ministry, which said it was still hoping he could be persuaded to give himself up.
Officials refused to confirm television news channels that the soldier, identified by his family name Lim, had been speaking to his father and was preparing to surrender.
Armed with a K-2 assault rifle and a stash of ammunition, Lim went on the run on Saturday night after killing five fellow soldiers at a frontline border outpost.
He traded fire with his pursuers late yesterday before digging in for the night in a section of forest outside a village just south of the heavily militarised border with North Korea.
“Our goal is still to capture him alive,” a senior military official said.
