A military court in South Korea has sentenced a soldier to death for killing five comrades and wounding seven others in a shooting and grenade attack last year.

The soldier, identified as Yim, detonated a grenade and fired at his unit members in June 2014 at his post near the border town of Goseong.

A Defense Ministry official speaking on condition of anonymity said on Tuesday that a military court in the eastern Gangwon Province charged the trooper with killing and injuring comrades as well as running away with a rifle and ammunition.

Yim fled into the forest near the border with North Korea but was later captured after he shot himself in what is believed to have been a failed suicide attempt.

According to sources, Yim has the right to appeal the verdict.

Yim apparently carried out the attack in retaliation for bullying by other soldiers.

Public outcry at the spate of bullying attacks in the military prompted the establishment of a military human rights commission and investigations into hundreds of bullying cases.

HJM/HJL/HMV