ASEAN calls for release of South Korean hostages
- From: Chim <ChimS1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 00:56:59 -0700
By IANS
Tuesday July 31, 12:32 PM
Manila, July 31 (DPA) East Asian foreign ministers Tuesday called for
the immediate release of the remaining 21 South Korean hostages in
Afghanistan after the body of a second captive allegedly killed by the
Taliban was found.
The ministers were meeting in Manila as part of the 40th Association
of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Ministerial Meeting.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, who is chairing the
meetings, said the foreign ministers agreed to call for the 'early and
unconditional release of the remaining South Korean hostages in
Afghanistan'.
The ministers also expressed condolences to the families of the slain
hostages and the Korean people.
The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Koreans riding on a bus through Ghazni
province on the Kabul-Kandahar highway on July 19, the largest group
of foreign hostages taken in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led
invasion.
The hostages were members of a South Korean Christian church group on
an aid mission in Afghanistan.
The Taliban has set several deadlines for the Koreans' lives. Last
Wednesday, the insurgents killed their first hostage, a male leader of
the group. On Tuesday, police said they have found the bullet-riddled
body of another slain South Korean.
The East Asia ministers attending the meetings in Manila are ASEAN
members Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand,
Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Burma, as well as China, Japan,
South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.
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