By Emal Pashtunyar Special to Korea Times KABUL _ Taliban militants said Tuesday that no ransom was received from Korean officials in return for an agreement to release their remaining 19 Korean hostages. Contacted over the telephone, the two Taliban spokesmen, Zabeehullah Mujahid and Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, contradicted all reports and speculation about a ransom being paid. Mujahid said the Taliban had a mission and were not fighting for money. He said the demand for a prisoner release and the withdrawal of Korean troops were based on principle. He said the Korean hostages would be free in a couple of days. Ahmadi also denied any behind the scenes deal with the Korean delegation. He said their demands were clear to everyone. Ahmadi said the Taliban wanted foreigners out of Afghanistan. ``They have occupied our country and we want all foreign troops out of Afghanistan.'' He said they did not care for money or other material things in their ``just struggle'' to bring ``freedom'' to the people of Afganistan. ``This is why we demanded the withdrawal of Korean troops from here and the release of our mujahedeen (holy warriors),'' said the spokesman. Earlier, a source privy to the negotiations had told The Korea Times that the Taliban were demanding $500,000 for the release of each hostage. Contacted over the telephone for comments on Tuesday, the same source said a ransom was involved in the agreement. However, he did not divulge any more details. The originally 23 Church volunteers, 18 of them women, were seized by Taliban militants while returning from Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar to Kabul on July 19. They were taken hostage in the Qarabagh district of Ghazni province while traveling in a passenger bus. Since then, the kidnappers have killed two hostages, both male, and freed two women captives after the first round of negotiations some three weeks ago.