Taliban May Free All Remaining Korean Hostages Today
Taliban militants in Afghanistan were expected to release the last remaining South Korean hostages Thursday after freeing 12 of the 19 South Korean hostages the day before in three separate rounds of handovers.
A Taliban negotiator told Agence France-Presse Thursday the last seven would definitely be freed.
"They are in different locations and we have to bring them to one place before handing them over," said Qari Mohammad Bashir, who was involved in a series of meetings with a South Korean delegation to free the aid workers.
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South Korean presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-sun said Thursday that once free, the group will be heading to Kabul before returning home via Dubai, putting an end to a six-week hostage crisis that began with the abduction of the original group of 23 South Korean Christian volunteers who were traveling by bus in the insurgency-plagued Ghazni province to provide free medical services to poor Afghan citizens.
Since the July 19 abduction – the largest abduction of foreigners in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001 – two male hostages have been killed. The leader of the group, Bae Hyung-kyu, was found dead on July 25, and the body of 29-year-old Shim Sung-min was found July 30. Prior to the latest releases, two females – 37-year-old Kim Kyung-ja and 32-year-old Kim Ji-na – were freed on Aug. 13.
The latest releases occurred a day after the Taliban and South Korea struck a deal in which Korea promised to withdraw its 200 troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year and to block South Korean Christian missionaries from working in the country. The rebels had reportedly foregone their original demand for a prisoner exchange.
Although the South Korea presidential spokesman said Tuesday it may take some time before the actual releases take place, the first set of hostages – three women – was released the next day in the village of Qala-e-Kazi and was followed several hours later by the release of four women and one man in a desert close to Shah Baz. As evening approached, four more hostages were handed over on a main road about 30 miles from Ghazni, according to The Associated Press.
Sammul Presbyterian Church in Bundang, South Korea, the home church of the Korean hostages, has identified the 12 released as Ahn Hye-jin, Lee Jeong-ran, Han Ji-young, Ko Se-hoon, Lim Hyun-joo, Lee Sun-young, Lee Ji-young, Ryu Jung-hwa, Seo Myung-hwa, Lee Ju-yeon, Cha Hye-jin, and Ryu Kyung-sik.
All 12 hostages released Wednesday were transferred to officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
"They seem after six weeks in detention very much relieved which is a natural reaction after an extremely stressful experience, said Greg Muller, ICRC representative to AFP.
"But physically they seem in good shape," he added.
The 12 spent their first night of freedom in a "safe place," an official in the South Korean embassy in Kabul said, refusing to divulge their whereabouts.
"They are taking a rest. They will be leaving Afghanistan soon," he told AP on condition of anonymity.
In South Korea, family members shed tears of joy after they first heard announcements from their government that their children and siblings would be freed by their captors within days.
"I am extremely happy. I want to see them and hug them hard now," said Seo Jeung-bae, 57, whose son and daughter have been among those being held, according to AFP.
"I had not doubted for one moment that the Taliban would return my children some day as the Taliban are also human beings and have their own families," he said.
Family members reportedly ran out of their church, where they had set up an emergency center to monitor the hostage crisis, shouting, "All of them will be freed," according to The Korea Times.
Relieved relatives thanked everyone for their prayers and apologized for making people worry for so long.
"We are more than thrilled to learn that they are free, but I must tell you that we can't wait until all of them return safely," said Cha Sung-min, a spokesman for the hostages' family members, according to Korea Times.
Korean citizens on the streets also expressed joy that the nerve-wrecking ordeal was nearing an end.
"I have been praying everyday for them," said Choi Sun-hee, a 55-year-old homemaker. "They were like my own sons and daughters. I am happy to hear the news."
Christian Post reporter Michelle Vu in Washington contributed to this report.
