Direct contact with South Korean Hostages

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Apparently there has been contact with at least one and maybe more of the 21 South Korean hostages:

South Korean officials have made direct contact with at least one of 21 South Korean hostages in Afghanistan, an official said Monday, as the Afghan and U.S. governments refuse to swap Taliban prisoners for hostages.

“During a telephone call between our officials at the (Korean) embassy in Afghanistan and the Taliban on Saturday, our officials were allowed to speak to one of the hostages,” an official at the South Korean Foreign Ministry told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official refused to identify who the hostage was or what they had discussed, citing safety concerns.

A self-claimed commander of the Taliban, who declined to identify himself, later told Yonhap News Agency that the militants had allowed three female hostages to speak with South Korean officials in Korean.


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