Shooting suspect surrounded

Republic of Korea soldiers stand guard at a temporary checkpoint during a search for the conscript soldier who is on the run after a shooting incident, in Goseong on Sunday. The soldier shot and killed five of his fellow unit members and injured five others late on Saturday at a guard post near the heavily armed border with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Lee Jong-Gun / Yonhap / Reuters

Republic of Korea troops exchanged fire on Sunday with a runaway soldier who was surrounded in a forest after he killed five comrades near his border outpost, and brought in his parents to persuade him to surrender, a defense official said.

One platoon leader was wounded when the sergeant, identified only by his surname Yim, threw a grenade and fired on the military personnel closing in on him, according to a Defense Ministry official who asked not to be named, citing department rules. The official said troops fired back.

Villagers in a nearby area were warned not to leave their houses. The village head, Jang Seok-kwon, said that he heard gunshots ring out about 10 times on Sunday.

The military brought Yim's parents to the forest about 10 km from the border outpost to try to persuade him to give up, the official said.

Yim opened fire on Saturday night with his standard issue K2 assault rifle at the outpost near the Democratic People's Republic of Korea border in Gangwon province, east of Seoul, killing five fellow soldiers and wounding seven others, the military said.

Yim, who was scheduled to be discharged from the military in September, fled with his weapon, but it wasn't clear how much live ammunition he had.

A Defense Ministry official confirmed Yim was considered a "protected and watched-on soldier", which means he needed special attention among servicemen. According to the official, the ROK military assigns such status based on servicemen's periodical person-ality test.

Yim was designated a grade-A protected soldier in April last year - one with a high risk of suicide attempt or inducing other accidents who could not serve at heavily guarded outposts - then improved to grade-B status last November. It means he was being watched with focused attention, but could serve at the outposts at the commander's discretion.

Shootings happen occasionally at the border.

In 2011, a 19-year-old marine corporal went on a shooting rampage at a Gwanghwa Island base, just south of the maritime border with the DPRK. Military investigators later said that corporal was angry about being shunned and slighted and showed signs of mental illness before the shooting.

In 2005, a soldier tossed a hand grenade and opened fire at a front line army unit in a rampage that killed eight colleagues and injured several others. Private First Class Kim Dong-min told investigators he was enraged at superiors who verbally abused him.