By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
One of female Koreans abducted by Taliban militants made a plea for help in an exclusive interview with U.S. television network CBS.
``We are in a very difficult time. Please help us,'' CBS quoted her as saying Thursday. The broadcaster said the interview was made on Wednesday night. It was the first time for a hostage held captive to be interviewed.
CBS reported her name as ``Yo Cyun-ju.'' However, no similar name is included in the list of the 19 volunteers from the Saemmul Community Church. The Korean government has not disclosed names of another three hostages held together with the church members, so it is presumed that the interviewee is one of the three abductees.
``We are all pleading for you to help us get out of here as soon as possible. Really, we beg you,'' she said. She spoke for about three minutes in Korean and an Afghan dialect of Farsi.
``All of us are sick and in very bad condition,'' she said. The hostages were being held in two groups, and she was with the 17 other women, while men captives were held separately, she was quoted as saying.
She said they were in dreadful condition, describing her captivity as a ``very difficult life every day'' and ``a very exhausting situation.''
Despite the death of Rev. Bae Hyung-kyu Wednesday, CBS reported that she was unaware of any of the man's killing due to the separation of men and women.
The female hostage who pleaded for help in a telephone interview has been tentatively identified as Im Hyun-joo, a 32-year-old former nurse who has been a health care worker in Afghanistan for three years.
Im's brother in South Korea told Yonhap that he immediately recognized the voice as his sister's when he heard the interview aired by CBS earlier Thursday.