Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Jul. 31, 2007 (Xinhua News Agency delivered by Newstex) -- S. Korea condemns killing of second S.Korean hostage in Afghanistan
SEOUL, July 31 (Xinhua) -- South Korea Tuesday condemned the killing of a second South Korean hostage in Afghanistan by Taliban militants, warning to take stern countermeasures against further killing of hostages.
'The South Korean government strongly condemns and urges an immediate end to these heinous acts of killing innocent people in order to press for demands that it can't meet... Kidnapping and killing innocent people can't be justified for any cause,' said Presidential Spokesman Cheon Ho-seon at a statement, which came after a confirmation by the Foreign Ministry that South Korean hostage Shim Sung-min were found dead in Afghanistan.
The South Korean government is seriously looking at the latest Taliban-set negotiation deadline of Wednesday afternoon (Korean Standard Time) and will mobilize all possible means to prevent the deaths of more hostages, the spokesman said.
'The kidnappers are demanding the release of prisoners in Afghan jails in exchange for Korean nationals. But this demand is not within the power of the Korean government because it doesn't have any effective means to influence the decisions of the Afghan government,' the statement stressed.
'The government is well aware of how the international community deals with these kinds of abduction cases. But it also believes that it would be worthwhile to use flexibility in the cause of saving the precious lives of those still in captivity and is appealing the international community to do so,' it said.
'Two South Koreans have been slain. Despite that, the government will continue to do all it can to secure the safe and speedy release of the remaining Korean hostages. But the government makes it clear that it will not tolerate any further acts of harming innocent Koreans and will hold the perpetrators responsible,' it warned.
Cheon stressed that the government remains unchanged in its opposition to any military operation meant to rescue the hostages, saying that dialogue should not be given up until the last moment.
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