A North Korean soldier who defected to the South under a hail of bullets has admitted ‘causing a death’ before his escape.
Oh Chung Song made headlines worldwide with footage showing him driving to the border at the truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone before dashing across as his comrades tried to kill him.
Under interrogation in South Korea the 24-year-old told Seoul officials that he had ‘committed a crime in North Korea, which caused a death’, a local news report claims.
Further details of the defector’s alleged crime have not been revealed but if he is found to have committed murder or manslaughter, he may lose some of the protections given to those who flee Kim Jong-un’s regime.
A North Korean soldier who defected to the South under a hail of bullets has admitted ‘causing a death’ before his escape
The soldier has been recovering in hospital from multiple gunshot wounds and doctors will decide this week whether to discharge him, Yonhap news agency said, in which case he will be transferred to an adaptation centre for defectors.
There is no extradition treaty between North and South Korea which means he will likely be allowed to stay in the South.
A ministry spokesperson said: ‘The investigation has not been completed yet. We cannot confirm specific details of the incident.’
Song was shot in his knee, arm, back, chest and through his shoulder during his daring escape in November and surgeons also found that his body was riddled with parasites and Hepatitis B.
But despite his serious injuries, surgeons saved his life and when he woke up at the Ajou University Hospital in South Korea.
North Korea is accused of violating an armistice agreement after its soldiers fired across the line that divides North and South Korea while chasing after a defecting North Korean solider (pictured, making a dash across between the two Koreas)
Once the soldier reached the foot of the bridge (far right) and past the guard post, he picked up speed and made a mad dash across the border in a Korean People’s Army (KPA) Jeep
Soldiers rushed down the stairs of the Joint Security Area and to the site of the Jeep collision
Oh is believed to be an army staff sergeant who was stationed in the Joint Security Area in the United Nations truce village of Panmunjom, according to Kim Byung-kee, a lawmaker of South Korea’s ruling party, briefed by the National Intelligence Service.
Footage from his brave dash across the border shows his former comrades opening fire at him as he races on foot over the painted line that divides the two countries.
He was shot at least four times in his daring bid, and was found by South Korean troops slumped in a pile of leaves just south of the border.
After being dragged to safety, he was airlifted to hospital, where he underwent two rounds of emergency surgery.
This map shows where the North Korean soldier crashed his vehicle and where he collapsed after crossing the border