Two female aid workers freed by Afghanistan's Taliban returned
home Friday to South Korea, after learning for the first time that
two fellow captives were killed during the nearly month-long
ordeal.
Kim Gi-Na and Kim Kyung-Ja looked shocked and traumatised when they
briefly appeared before TV cameras after landing at Incheon airport
west of Seoul.
"I'm sorry for causing so much concern for the people," Kyung-Ja,
37, said in mumbled remarks. "I hope all the remaining hostages
return home at the earliest possible date."
Gi-na, 32, added: "I only hope all the remaining people will be
immediately freed."
The pair were among a group of 23 South Korean aid workers,
including 16 women, who were seized by the Taliban on July 19 while
travelling by coach through insurgency-plagued southern
Afghanistan.
The guerrillas shot dead two male hostages to press their demands
for the release of Taliban prisoners, a demand rejected by the
Kabul government.
The women, who were freed Monday, were told only when they started
their journey home that the two men had been shot dead, a
government official who accompanied them told Yonhap news
agency.
"They learned of the two deaths only after they began heading for
home on August 16," the unidentified official said. "They were
shocked and traumatised at the news and were lost for words for a
while.
"They wept for half an hour."
The hostages had been separated into small groups and moved
frequently to frustrate any rescue mission.
The women met their brothers on board the plane before heading into
the terminal, YTN TV reported. After their brief remarks, they were
seen walking hand-in-hand to an ambulance which took them to a
military hospital for check-ups.
Gi-Na and Kyung-Ja were released in what the insurgents called a
"goodwill gesture" after the Taliban had begun negotiating directly
with South Korean government representatives in Afghanistan.
The pair underwent medical check-ups at a Korean military base at
Bagram in Afghanistan before flying home.
Foreign media were barred from the terminal. Officials have said
they want to limit the women's exposure to the media for fear of
jeopardising the safety of those still in captivity.
Gi-Na and Kyung-Ja were admitted to a VIP room at the army hospital
and kept incommunicado, Yonhap reported.
Negotiations Thursday for the release of the remaining 19 made no
progress, according to the Taliban, and an aid agency official
involved in facilitating dialogue said there was little chance of
any talks Friday.
The South Koreans were on an aid mission organised by Saem-Mul
Presbyterian church at Bundang in suburban Seoul. Its leaders have
apologised for organising what critics called a reckless
trip.
South Korea has since made unauthorised travel to Afghanistan an
offence punishable by a jail term, and has urged other aid groups
in the country to leave as soon as possible.
Newspapers said office worker Kim Kyung-Ja had told her family
before she left for Afghanistan a month ago that she was heading to
Dubai, in order to spare them anxiety.
She used her annual leave to make the trip.
Kim Gi-Na teaches computer animation at an occupational college but
spends her spare time teaching children at the Saem-Mul
church.
South Korea has said it has little scope to meet the Taliban demand
for a prisoner release. It has called on other parties to be
"flexible" but has not publicly asked the US or Afghan government
to arrange a prisoner swap.
President Roh Moo-Hyun earlier this week urged a redoubling of
efforts. "We shouldn't relax until the last moment," he said.