By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Family members of the 21 Korean hostages held by Taliban militants in Afghanistan Saturday cancelled a trip to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, which was part of their efforts to seek the release of the captives.
The cancellation came after a meeting with the chief presidential secretary for foreign and security affairs on Saturday.
In the lunch meeting at a Seoul restaurant, chief security secretary Baek Jong-cheon tried to give solace to the family members and promised that the government will continue making every effort to get the hostages released.
Baek told them of the progress being made in the government's efforts to free the Korean hostages.
He met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on July 29 during his visit to Kabul as a presidential envoy before returning to Seoul on Aug. 3.
The representatives of the hostages' family members originally planned to visit the Middle East country on Monday to meet the Arab press and plead for the safe release of the captives.
The cancellation was reportedly related to hopes for resumed negotiations on Saturday between a Korean delegation and Taliban militants holding the hostages.
Cha Sung-min, the representative of the families of the hostages, did not reveal details about the lunch meeting, and said that he was waiting for the results of the negotiations.
Meanwhile, the family members have released a third video to plead for international help for the safe return of the hostages.
The video contains the story of Lee Chae-bok, the mother of Je Chang-hee who has been in the hands of the Taliban for over three weeks along with other Koreans. It is distributed through international user created content (UCC) sites.