A stand-off between South Korean troops and a conscript soldier who killed five comrades ended on Monday when the young recruit shot himself in an incident that has raised fresh questions over the country's rules on compulsory military service, Reuters reported. Troops cornered the 22-year-old soldier in a densely forested area near a small town in Goseong county, a mountainous region on the eastern coast of the peninsula near the border with North Korea. After a 24-hour stand-off and despite pleas by his father to give himself up, the conscript shot himself in the side, and was taken to a military hospital. Late on Saturday night the soldier threw a grenade and opened fire, killing five members of his unit and wounding seven at a base outpost in Goseong county. The conscript then fled carrying a firearm, ammunition and a grenade and exchanged gunfire with troops. The soldier, identified as Sergeant Lim, was described by an official as an "introvert" and said there had been earlier concerns over his psychological health, but he was deemed fit to be deployed to the outpost after passing a test in November.
