(CNN) The North Korean soldier who was caught on tape making a dramatic escape through the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to South Korea late last year has given some startling insights into life in the North, including the suggestion that the majority of young people there have no loyalty to Kim Jong Un.

Giving his first interview since his defection last November, Oh Chong-song told Japanese and South Korean media that he's a "new person with a new name" in South Korea, and that one of the first things he remembers following his emergency life-saving surgery, was seeing the South Korean flag.

The then-24-year-old was shot around five times by his fellow North Korean soldiers as he made his daring escape across the line that divides North and South Korea.

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Close to death following escape

Riddled with bullets, he was dragged to safety by South Korean soldiers and hovered close to death during the 25-minute airlift to hospital. The South Korean military doctor who operated on him called him "a broken jar. We couldn't put enough blood into him."