Kim Gyeong-ja, left, and Kim Ji-na, who were released by their Taliban abductors in Afghanistan, talk to reporters after arriving at Incheon International Airport via New Delhi, Friday. / Korea Times Photo by Cho Young-ho

By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

Two female hostages released by Taliban militants in Afghanistan returned home Friday, 35 days after they headed out for the country to do aid work.

Kim Gyeong-ja, 37, and Kim Ji-na, 32, arrived at Incheon International Airport on an Asiana Airlines' flight from New Delhi.

In a two-minute briefing at the airport, Kim Gyeong-ja told reporters that she was sorry for making people worry. ``We were freed thanks to your concern and I appreciate it. I hope all the other hostages will return home soon,'' she said.

Kim Ji-na also said she was sorry for making trouble and was grateful for her release.

While both looked nervous their health was fine, according to government officials.

They did not answer reporters' questions about their captivity, and left with the officials. After reuniting with their families at the airport, they went by ambulance to a military hospital in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province for a medical checkup and rest.

The government said it would strictly restrict the media's contact with them, as their testimony about their captivity may influence ongoing negotiations and threaten the safety of the remaining 19 hostages.

According to a government official who accompanied the two from New Delhi to Seoul, they did not know they would be freed until their moment of release, Yonhap News reported.

``As they moved frequently during the captivity, they were thinking that the Taliban were taking them to another place, not noticing they would be released,'' the official was quoted as saying.

They were placed under strict surveillance by their abductors and cut off from communication with the outside world, so they were not aware of the deaths of Rev. Bae Hyung-kyu and Shim Sung-min, according to the official.

The two, who were in the group with Shim, believed he had been freed as he was ordered to come out of the place they were staying on July 30 and did not come back, he said.

``They did not know of the deaths of Rev. Bae and Shim even when they were moved to a U.S. Air Force base in Bagram. They learned the fact on Thursday and were shocked _ they cried for about 30 minutes. They showed symptoms of anorexia, mental anxiety, and have not smiled at all since then,'' he said.

The Taliban killed Rev. Bae on July 25 after announcing the failure of negotiations with the Afghan government, and murdered Shim on July 31.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr