Speculation has emerged that a North Korean solder who defected to the South through the JSA near the border under a hail of bullets from his former comrades may have been involved in a murder back home.

According to a local daily Donga Ilbo on Monday, Oh Chung-sung, 25, confessed to the South Korean investigators that he had “committed crime in North Korea that led to the killing of people.”

The government Tuesday declined to confirm the report, saying an investigation is underway. Following a series of surgeries on his gunshot wounds, Oh remains hospitalized but the Defense Ministry said he is expected to leave the hospital this week if his health permits.

During the investigation, Oh also revealed that he is a son of major general of the North Korean People’s Army, the newspaper reported. It had been speculated he was a son of a North Korean military police official with a rank equivalent to a South Korean lieutenant colonel.

Oh defected to South Korea last November through the truce village of Panmunjeon at the heavily-fortified Demilitarized Zone with the North Korean guard soldiers firing about 40 bullets at him.

(jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)