An armed South Korean soldier who fled into a forest after allegedly killing five colleagues at an outpost near the North Korean border in Gangwon province, east of Seoul, was captured Monday following an unsuccessful suicide attempt, the Defense Ministry said.

There were no confirmed reports on what triggered the rampage, and any involvement from South Korea's bitter rival, North Korea, was also not indicated.

Surnamed Yim, the 22-year-old sergeant tried to commit suicide by shooting himself on the side of his abdomen as his father and brother approached, but was still alive when he was rushed to the hospital, the Associated Press reported. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of department rules, did not provide further details.

Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said the soldier would later be handed over to military investigators for further investigation.

A massive manhunt began Saturday night after Yim killed five fellow soldiers and wounded seven others and fled his North Korea frontline unit armed with his standard-issue K2 assault rifle. By Sunday, he had injured a platoon leader as troops chased him through a forest and wounded another South Korean soldier early Monday in suspected friendly fire.

Troops were finally able to get close enough to toss him a mobile phone to communicate with his father on early Monday, along with some bread and water. His parents, who were also called to the area to try and persuade him to surrender, were 8 meters away when Yim shot himself.

Initial personality tests in April of last year put Yim within a group of soldiers who need special attention and are unfit for frontline duty, with a Defense Ministry official confirming that he was considered a "protected and watched-on soldier." But tests last November concluded he had improved and could serve in the frontline area, defense officials said.

The runaway soldier was scheduled to complete his nearly two years of mandatory military service and be discharged in September.

Shooting rampages against fellow soldiers have become an occasional occurrence in South Korea. "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 North Korea," according to the AP. "Military investigators later said that corporal was angry about being shunned and slighted and showed signs of mental illness before the shooting."