Young North Koreans feel no allegiance to Kim Jong-un and are indifferent to politics, according to a defector who was shot by his own comrades as he escaped across the border last year.

Oh Chong-song, a soldier and son of a general, was captured on camera making the dash into South Korea at Panmunjom village a year ago. He was shot at least four times.

Panmunjom, in the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas, is where Mr Kim met South Korean president Moon Jae-in earlier this year amid a lessening of tensions on the border.

The Panmunjom Declaration, signed by Mr Kim and Donald Trump at their unprecedented meeting this year as a statement of their desire to de-escalate their warlike stances, was named for the village.

The 25-year-old Mr Oh, who described himself as “upper class”, said he was personally “indifferent” to Mr Kim’s despotic rule.

“Inside the North, people, and especially the younger generation, are indifferent to each other, politics, and their leaders, and there is no sense of loyalty,” he told Japan’s Sankei Shimbun newspaper in what it claimed was his first interview.

“Probably 80 percent of my generation is indifferent and has no loyalty,” he told the newspaper. “It is natural to have no interest nor loyalty since the hereditary system is taken as a given, regardless of its inability to feed people.”

Of his dramatic escape, Mr Oh said that he had got into trouble with friends and begun drinking. While making his way back to his post he reportedly broke through a checkpoint, and “feared I could be executed if I went back so I crossed the border”, he said.

North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits Show all 16 1 /16 North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea, portraits of former supreme leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are required by law to be hung in the home, the classroom, the factory and all manner of other private and public places Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the classroom AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the living room AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the maternity ward of the hospital Alamy North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits On board the ship Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits At the ballot box Mannen av börd North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the office AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits On the bridegroom Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits On the Pyongyang subway Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits On a government building Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the teacher training facility AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the home AFP/Getty North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits At the military parade Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits In the hall Reuters North Korea's pervasive leaders: the Kim portraits At the Chinese border AFP/Getty

The situation on the Korean peninsula has shifted markedly since Mr Moon began applying intensive diplomatic efforts to break down barriers between Mr Trump and Mr Kim.

From calling the dictator “little rocket man” and threatening to rain “fire and fury” on Pyongyang, Mr Trump has turned to praising his counterpart as a serious leader and even describing him in admiring terms, despite conditions inside North Korea.