Taliban, Korean Negotiators to Resume Talks on Hostages

KABUL, Aug 28 - Taliban and South Korean negotiators were expected on Tuesday to resume talks on the fate of the remaining 19 Korean hostages held by the militant group in Afghanistan, a provincial governor said.

The talks failed nearly two weeks ago after the Korean team told the Taliban it could not fulfil the group's main demand to free Taliban prisoners jailed by the Afghan government in return for the freedom of the hostages, most of whom are women.
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The Taliban Islamic movement seized the 23 Korean Christian volunteers on July 19 from a bus in Ghazni province.

The group has killed two male hostages after a series of deadlines, but freed two female captives as a gesture of goodwill during the first round of talks.

"The talks are due to begin today between the Taliban and the Korean representatives over the hostages," Ghazni's governor Merajuddin Pattan told Reuters.

He did not give further details.

The kidnapping of the Koreans is the largest case of abductions in the resurgent Taliban's campaign since U.S.-led troops toppled the group from power in 2001.

It came a day after Taliban fighters seized two German aid workers and their five Afghan colleagues from Wardak province, which like Ghazni lies to the southwest of Kabul.

The Taliban have killed one of the Germans, but are still holding the other along with four Afghans. One Afghan managed to escape. The Taliban are demanding the withdrawal of German troops serving under NATO's command from Afghanistan for freeing the German.

Germany has ruled out the Taliban condition.

After coming under sharp criticism for releasing a group of Taliban prisoners in return for an Italian journalist in March, President Hamid Karzai's government has categorically rejected the Taliban demand on the Korean hostages.

The Afghan government has not ruled out using force to free the hostages, should the talks between the Korean and Taliban negotiators fail.

But the Taliban, who keep the hostages in small groups, have warned against any use of force, saying that would jeoparadise the lives of the captives.

A state-run English daily on Tuesday said use of force was the only way to free the hostages. Ransom payments, another possible option, would empower the Taliban to purchase arms in their campaign against the government and the Western troops stationed in the country.

"The only option left is to find the exact location of the these hostages and attack in full force," The Kabul Times said.