The doctor in charge of treating a North Korean soldier shot multiple times in the process of defecting to the South says his patient remains in critical condition despite a successful second surgery.
 
In a written briefing on Wednesday, Doctor Lee Guk-jong at Ajou University said he removed a bullet left in the defector’s abdominal wall before cleansing and stitching up the contaminated intestine.
 
Lee said the soldier bled a lot and his prognosis could be bad.
 
The North Korean is currently in an intensive care unit at the Suwon-based university hospital after escaping to the South through the truce village of Panmunjeom on Monday.
 
He was shot five times by his former comrades as he fled across the border.