Taliban Roh¡?s Envoy Arrives in Kabul
By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun dispatched a special envoy to Kabul Thursday after one of 23 Koreans taken hostage in Afghanistan was killed by the Taliban a day earlier.
Baek Jong-chun, who serves as chief presidential secretary for unification, foreign and security policy, arrived in the Afghan capital of Kabul later in the day in his capacity as a high-level presidential envoy, Cheong Wa Dae said.
``He will seek closer cooperation from the Afghan government for setting free the 22 Korean captives,'' presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon told reporters.
Cheon said Baek is one of a few figures involved in recent talks between leaders of the two countries via telephone, adding, ``He will discuss multilateral ways to secure safety of the Koreans and their early release.''
But he ruled out the possibility of the presidential envoy participating in the negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Asked if eight of the 23 Koreans were released as was reported on Wednesday, Cheon said no fact has been confirmed about it as of 3 p.m. Thursday.
In a statement issued following a meeting of security affairs secretaries, the Korean government said that the organization responsible for the abduction will be held accountable for taking the life of an innocent Korean citizen.
``The killing of an innocent citizen cannot be justified under any circumstance or for any reason, and any such inhumane act cannot be tolerated,'' it said.
Presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-seon ruled out any military action to rescue the hostages. He said the government understands that the allied forces, including the United States and Afghanistan, will not resort to military action unless Seoul agrees.
The government will exert all possible efforts and cooperate with the Afghan government and other countries so that the Korean hostages will be able to rejoin their families safely at the earliest possible date.
Since last Friday when the kidnapping was made public, President Roh and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have held telephone talks twice.
Lee Chang-suk, mother of the killed male Korean, burst into tears as she watched the government announcement on TV.
``I never thought it possible,'' the 68-year-old mother said, faltering as she was overcome by sorrow.