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October 12, 2008 10:35:02 AM CDT

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Korean Hostage Talks Fail

Posted Aug 18, 07 11:46 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – As the 19 remaining Korean hostages await news of their fate, negotiations to secure their release have failed, according to a Taliban spokesman. The terror group says its principal demand—the liberation of insurgents being held by coalition forces—was not met; South Korean officials have insisted Seoul has no power to release captured them.

"I don't think further talks will yield anything," the spokesman said, adding that the Taliban’s leadership council was considering the fate of hostages. Two ill female hostages were released on Monday, but the insurgents have already killed two male captives.

Source Reuters

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A large banner displaying a message written in Korean, Arabic, center, and English hangs on a building in downtown Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007. A Taliban spokesman reiterated on Sunday that...   (Associated Press)
Two South Korean hostages freed from Taliban captivity, Kim Kyung-ja, left, and Kim Gina, arrive at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, west of Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 17, 2007. The two...   (Associated Press)
Two South Korean hostages freed from Taliban captivity, Kim Kyung-ja, left, and Kim Gina, react upon arrival at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, west of Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 17, 2007....   (Associated Press)
Two South Korean hostages freed from Taliban captivity, Kim Kyung-ja, center, and Kim Gina, right, are escorted by an officer after they arrived at Incheon International Airport in Incheon, west of Seoul,...   (Associated Press)
An Afghan walks by the Afghan Red Crescent Society of Ghazni province, where Taliban and South Korean delegations are discussing the fate of 21 South Korean hostages in the city of Ghazni province, west...   (Associated Press)
Taliban representative Mawlawi Nasrullah talks with the media at the center of Afghan Red Crescent Society of Ghazni province, where Taliban and Korean delegations will meet to discuss the fate of 21...   (Associated Press)
well and that the Taliban were sticking with their original demand, that 21 Taliban prisoners be released from prisons in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)   (Associated Press)
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Afghanistan  • Taliban  • kidnapping  • insurgents  • South Korea  • hostage  • Kabul  • Korean hostages  • negotiations  • Seoul



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