By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
Though the Taliban killed one Korean captive Wednesday in Afghanistan, the other 22 hostages are confirmed to be still safe, according to the Korean government Thursday.
However, the Taliban still threatened to kill the remaining prisoners unless their demands are met.
``One of our citizens kidnapped in Afghanistan was confirmed to have been killed on July 25,'' Cho Hee-yong, spokesman of the Foreign Ministry, told reporters Thursday. ``The other 22 hostages are still safe, and the government once again urges the kidnappers to release them.''
Cho also denied allegations that Korea would take military action against the Taliban for the recent execution, stressing that the government opposes all military intervention. Chong Wa Dae spokesman Cheon Ho-seon said the Seoul government expects the allied forces, including Afghanistan and the United States, would not use military force without the consent of Korean authorities.
The victim is Rev. Bae Hyung-kyu, 42, who led a group of the 23 Korean Christian volunteers in Afghanistan. His body was transported to a Korean base in Bagram, Afghanistan.
Yousaf Ahmadi, purported spokesman of the Taliban, said that Bae was sick and couldn't walk and was therefore shot. He also ascribed the killing to stalled negotiations between the Korean and Afghan governments, according to reports.
Ahmadi said the other 22 Korean hostages are still safe though what the Taliban call a final deadline of 1 a.m. Thursday _ 5:30 a.m. Thursday (Korea Standard Time) passed.
CBS aired a telephone interview with a female hostage, who said that they are living in very difficult conditions and urged the governments concerned to do their utmost to free them at the earliest possible date.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera reported the hostages refused to eat food offered by the Taliban in protest against their situation.
The Korean government said it seeks to provide the hostages with food and medical supplies as the Taliban also expressed no objection to the provision.
Meanwhile, the Taliban denied reports that eight hostages were released and taken to a U.S. military base in Afghanistan. ``No one has been freed so far,'' Ahamdi was quoted as saying by AFP.
Japan's NHK said that the Taliban has agreed to release the eight hostages but took them back to their hideout in fear of harming them. As the Taliban spotted armored vehicles around the route to the delivery spot, they retreated along with the eight prisoners.
The payment of money would stand as the most viable measure for the Afghan government to take because it is very difficult for Afghanistan to accept the Taliban's demand of swapping prisoners with hostages.
The United States and the other Western countries strongly oppose the release of the Taliban prisoners because it will encourage more kidnapping by insurgents.
Afghan President Haid Karzai said in March, following the release of five Taliban prisoners for an Italian journalist, that his government would not make any more hostage deals.
The Taliban already delivered a list of jailed Taliban militants to be freed in return for the release of the Korean hostages to the Afghan government.
Earlier, the Taliban demanded the withdrawal of the Korean troops in Afghanistan but it canceled the demand because Seoul reassured that it planed to go ahead with pulling the troops out by the end of this year on schedule.
The Korean abductees _ 18 women and five men, mostly doctors and nurses 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.