By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pressed the Afghan government to redouble their efforts for the release of the South Korean captives.
In a telephone conversation with President Hamid Karzai, the secretary general urged the Afghan government to do its utmost to secure an early release of abductees, Marie Okabe, deputy spokesperson for the U.N., told reporters at the U.N. headquarters on Wednesday.
The spokesperson said the U.N. chief was in close contact with the U.N. mission in Afghanistan over the safety of the South Korean kidnappings.
On Thursday, the South Korean government said 22 of its nationals still remained in Taliban captivity after a Korean pastor, identified as Bae Hyung-kyu, was killed by militias.
A presidential spokesman also revealed that the remaining prisoners were not believed to be suffering from health related problems. President Roh Moo-hyun has been communicating with his Afghan counterpart trying to ensure the safe return of the hostages.
`` The South Korean government opposes military operations so there won't be any force,'' Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Chun Ho-sun told reporters. But he declined to specify the details that Seoul and Kabul are currently in their third trial of discussions.
Taliban rebels, who initially kidnapped the 23 Koreans en route to Kabul from the southern city of Kandahar, have demanded the withdrawal of Korean troops from Afghanistan and will only exchange equal numbers of Korean hostages for its own militia currently in Afghan custody.
Seoul already reaffirmed that the paperwork of the withdrawal of its troops is under way, and the government will continue to uphold its agreement on a full release by the end of this year.