S. Korea, US agree no force to free Afghan
hostages
Thursday August 02, 2007 (1901 PST)
MANILA: South Korea and the United States have ruled out the
possibility of military operations to secure the release of South
Koreans held in Afghanistan, a South Korean official said
Thursday.
South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon and U.S. Deputy
Secretary of State John Negroponte discussed the hostages during a
meeting in Manila on Thursday on the sidelines of an Asian security
conference, the Foreign Ministry official said.
"The two sides ruled out the possibility of military operations and
placed a top priority on safely resolving the issue by mobilizing
all means," Song said after the meeting, the official said. He
asked not to be named, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
"The United States is not preparing military operations," he quoted
Song as saying.
South Korea's government said Wednesday that there would not be any
military operations without its consent.
The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Koreans from a bus in southern
Afghanistan on July 19 and has shot two of them to death. It is
threatening more killings unless the Afghan government releases
insurgent prisoners.
Eight senior members of South Korea's National Assembly left for
Washington on Thursday to urge U.S. officials to take an "active
and positive" approach to the crisis, amid widespread perceptions
that Washington is key to ending the crisis by influencing
Afghanistan's government.
Song indicated there were difficulties in ending the crisis because
of a U.S. policy of refusing to negotiate with terrorists, but
vowed to resolve the issue while keeping intact the anti-terror
principle, the South Korean official said, without
elaborating.
South Korea and the U.S. have agreed to "mobilize all realistic
means available" to secure the hostages' freedom, the official
said.
South Korea warned earlier that it would not "sit by and
watch" if the Taliban kills more captives, prompting speculation
that a military option might be possible.
The families of the remaining hostages have voiced strong
opposition to the use of force out of fears it would lead to mass
deaths.
Foreign ministers at the Manila conference, sponsored by the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations, have expressed concern
about the kidnapping and about the security situation in
Afghanistan.
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said South Korea
should not consider paying ransom to free its citizens.
He did not respond directly to a question on whether force should
be used, but said that if they were Australians, that option would
certainly be considered.
"We wouldn't rule anything out except paying ransom," he
said.
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