Army captures killer South Korean conscript

A South Korean military conscript who killed five members of his unit was captured on Monday after shooting and wounding himself following a tense 24-hour standoff with thousands of troops. ‘He shot himself in the side and we have captured him alive,’ a defence 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, since he was tracked down on 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 and wounding seven others at a frontline border outpost. PTI