Families of 23 South Koreans taken hostage in Afghanistan heaved a sigh of relief Sunday after the kidnappers extended by 24 hours the deadline to start killing them.
Tension ran high as more than 100 relatives and friends gathered at a church in Seongnam, a satellite city of Seoul, to watch television reports that negotiations continued past the 11:30 p.m. (Korean time) deadline set by Taliban insurgents.
"The news of the deadline extension is relieving, in the first place, because it makes us think the negotiations are going on in the positive way," one family member said, requesting anonymity.
The militants originally had set a Sunday deadline, demanding the release of an equal number of Taliban prisoners and the withdrawal of about 200 South Korean troops in Afghanistan but extended it to Monday.
The families were shocked when some foreign media reported earlier in the day that the Afghan military started operations to free the captives by force, which could jeopardize the safety of the hostages. The Afghan and South Korean governments quickly denied the reports.
"I can't endure this," said a teary family member, Lee Jeong-hun, whose sister Jeong-ran is among the hostages. "I will be nicer to her. Please just come home."
The families issued a joint statement, in which they said they "wholeheartedly trust" their government and its efforts to have their loved ones returned.
South Korean officials said efforts were under way to secure the release of the hostages. A South Korean government crisis team arrived in Kabul on Sunday amid reports that Afghan troops have surrounded the area in the Ghazni province where the captives are believed held.
Muslims residing in South Korea joined locals wishing for the safe release of the captives. "It's regretful. I hope everyone will come back home safely," said a 28-year-old Egyptian in the Seoul Central Mosque, requesting anonymity.
"Afghanistan is now like a jungle where security is a mess. The Taliban abduct (foreigners) to survive in Afghanistan, and that must have put the Koreans in the mire."
The Koreans, all from a Christian church on the outskirts of Seoul, were abducted at gun point from a bus as they traveled from Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar on Thursday to provide medical and educational assistance. Reports said they were in good condition.
(YONHAP)