By Kim Yon-se, Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporters in Seoul with Emal Pashtunyar in Kabul
Taliban militants Tuesday threatened to kill a third Korean hostage today unless their demands for a prisoner swap are accepted by 4:30 this afternoon (KST).
Taliban spokesman Yousaf Ahamdi said that the series of killings will continue until their demands for an exchange of Afghan-held prisoners for the hostages are met, as he set the 10th deadline.
A supreme council of the Taliban was held Monday to decide whether to kill the hostages one by one, or collectively, or release them, and was reported to have chosen to kill them one by one. The second hostage was killed right after the meeting, according to sources in Kabul.
``If our demands are not met by then, we will start killing the rest of the 21 South Koreans,'' Ahamadi was quoted as saying by AFP, accusing the Afghan and South Korean governments of insincerity in negotiations.
He urged again the Korean government to press Kabul to free the prisoners. But the Afghan government ruled out release of Taliban prisoners Tuesday.
The Taliban shot to death Shim Sung-min, 29, Monday night, following the killing of the leader of the Christian aid group, Rev. Bae Hyung-kyu, on July 25.
Ahmadi said they killed Shim because the Afghan government didn't pay attention to deadlines for the negotiations though these were extended several times for ``sincere talks.''
Shim's body was found in the southern province of Ghazni, about 140 kilometers south of Kabul where 23 Koreans were kidnapped, and transported to a U.S. military base in Bagram.
The South Korean government strongly denounced the killing, vowing to take stern countermeasures against the Taliban over any further killings of innocent Korean hostages.
Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Cheon Ho-seon warned that South Korea would not ``sit idle and watch'' the lives of its innocent citizens being taken.
In a statement, Cheon said the Korean government ``will not tolerate any further acts of harming innocent Koreans and holds the perpetrators responsible.''
``The Korean government strongly condemns and urges an immediate end to these heinous acts of killing innocent people in order to press for demands that it can't meet,'' the statement said. ``Kidnapping and killing innocent people can't be justified for any cause.''
The Taliban reiterated that its only demand is the swapping of prisoners for the hostages, which is totally up to the Afghan government. Kabul has said it can't participate in such a deal because such exchange could encourage more kidnappings by the insurgents. Most countries refuse to negotiate with terrorists for just such reasons.
``We shouldn't encourage kidnapping by actually accepting their demands,'' Humayun Hamidzada, the spokesman of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, told reporters.
Cheon asked the international community to exert efforts to resolve the prolonged crisis, indirectly urging the United States to exert its influence over the Afghan government to set free jailed Taliban rebels as demanded by the insurgent group to save the Korean hostages.
``The government is well aware of how the international community deals with these kinds of abduction cases,'' he said. ``But it also believes that it would be worthwhile to use flexibility for saving the precious lives of those still in captivity and is appealing for the international community to do so.''
Cheon said the government will continue its efforts to bring the remaining 21 hostages home safely at an early date, but it remains unchanged in its opposition to any military operation meant to rescue the hostages, saying that dialogue should not be given up until the last moment.
The second slaying of a Korean hostage has triggered international condemnation of the Islamic insurgents.
The Organization of the Islamic Conference called for the immediate release of the hostages, saying such kidnapping action ran counter to the tenets of Islam's noble values.
The United Nations mission in Afghanistan said it was extremely concerned since many of the hostages are women, who should not be part of the conflict, and had come to Afghanistan to help the people there.
Pope Benedict XVI said on Sunday the abduction of the Koreans was a ``grave violation of human dignity,'' which clashes with every elementary norm of civility and human rights.
The remaining Korean abductees _ 18 women and three men, mostly in their 20s and 30s _ went to Afghanistan on July 13 to offer volunteer medical services. Most of them are members of the Saemmul Community Church in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province.