Taliban UN Chief Deplores Hostage Killing by Taliban

WASHINGTON _ U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday denounced the Taliban's killing of another South Korean hostage and expressed deep concerns for the safety of others still being held.

"The secretary-general deplores the killing of two of the hostages from the Republic of Korea held by the Taliban. He offers his sincere condolences to the family of the victims and to the Korean people," his spokesman said in a statement.

"He remains deeply concerned for the safety and welfare of the 21 Korean hostages, the German national and the four Afghans who are still being detained," the statement said.

The South Korean civilians, sent by a church on a volunteer mission, were kidnapped on July 19 while traveling on a highway near Kabul. On Monday, the body of a second hostage was found. The German and the Afghans were seized separately from the Koreans.

The Taliban demands an exchange of the hostages with its prisoners held by the Afghan government, which flatly rejected any such negotiations.

The U.N. statement said the hostages had gone to help the local people and should not made part of the conflict in the country.

"The secretary-general fully supports the Afghan authorities in their continuing efforts to ensure the safe return of all those being held against their will," it said.

(Yonhap)