A video clip has emerged showing the desperate bid of a North Korean soldier to escape to South Korea on November 13. The footage, which was released by the United Nations Command in Seoul, shows North Korean soldiers firing at the defector as he was trying to flee.

The defector is seen first fleeing in a jeep that crashes into a ditch. He then starts running when the other North Korean soldiers start firing at him. One of the soldiers is also seen crossing the border while chasing the defector.

The soldier who fled the country was critically wounded and is being treated at a hospital near Seoul. Doctors had earlier said they had removed a a 10.6-inch long parasitic worm from his digestive tract. The soldier, whose rank and identity have not been disclosed, has regained consciousness, doctors said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

The spokesperson for the UN command, Colonel Chad Carroll, said North Korea had violated the armistice agreement as its soldiers had fired across the border and had physically crossed the border as well, The Telegraph reported.

This is the fourth defection by a North Korean soldier through the demilitarised zone in the last three years, the BBC reported.