Posted on 08/02/2007 9:11:44 PM PDT by Ghayyour
The Taleban have agreed to face-to-face talks with South Korean officials to discuss the fate of 21 Koreans, held by the militant group for two weeks. A location is yet to be agreed after the Taleban refused to meet at a venue under the control of Nato-led forces.
Two of the Christian workers have already been killed. Their bodies were found in Ghazni province.
The Taleban are threatening more deaths unless demands are met for the release of eight government-held prisoners.
A group of senior South Korean lawmakers have travelled to Washington in a bid to urge the US to help end the crisis.
Sealed off
It is thought the South Korean aid workers are being held in a number of small groups in a village about 10km (six miles) from Ghazni town centre.
The BBC's Alastair Leithead in Ghazni province says military forces have surrounded the area as the efforts continue to try to bring the hostage crisis to a peaceful resolution.
Houses nearby have been searched and roads to the area have been sealed off.
Leaflets were dropped on Wednesday warning local people to leave the area fuelling rumours that a military rescue operation could be launched.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has exchanged prisoners for hostages before, but the government has made it clear this is no longer the policy.
The South Korean government has repeatedly said it is opposed to direct military action.
Bodies discovered
The Korean Christian workers - 18 of them women - were seized on 19 July as they travelled by bus down the main road from Kabul to Kandahar.
The aid workers' leader, Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu, was the first to be shot dead by the militants. His death was reported over the weekend.
On Tuesday, South Korea confirmed that a second hostage had been killed - 29-year-old Shim Sung-min, a former IT worker.
Meanwhile a senior Afghan negotiator has resigned, saying the government could not guarantee his safety.
Afghan should use a knockout drug on the prisoners,then put a bug in their bodies and let them go. Things then could get verrrrry interesting.
I am sure somebody has thought of some way to inject them (the Taliban in capitivity their comrades seek to spring from jail) or somehow put some agent in or on their bodies or personal things (a Koran?) with which to track them. If they had not thought of such an approach, they would be stupid.
I pray for these Christian missionaries. I pray Lord, that you would surround your saints with angels. Give them courage, give them peace, give them safety, give them faith that sustains. I pray they would be set free. I pray that the plans of the evil one would not prosper. I pray that they would be able to share Christ with their enemies. I thank you Lord for hearing our prayers. In Jesus name. Amen.
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