Ransom paid for S Korean hostages, says report

South Korea paid two million dollars to Taliban extremists in Afghanistan to secure the release of 19 hostages...

South Korea paid two million dollars to Taliban extremists in Afghanistan to secure the release of 19 hostages, a Japanese newspaper reported on Friday.

Citing unidentified sources in Afghanistan, the respected Asahi Shimbun said Afghan mediators persuaded South Korea’s ambassador in Kabul that there was no other way to end the six-week kidnap ordeal.

“Two million dollars were paid to release all 19 people,” an Afghan mediator was quoted as telling the influential Japanese daily.

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The Asahi Shimbun said both a South Korean official and a Taliban spokesman contacted by the newspaper denied any payment.

The Taliban, who earlier killed two of the hostages, freed the 19 Christian aid workers this week after South Korea promised to withdraw its military from Afghanistan as planned and ban missionary groups from the Islamic country. South Korean officials have not commented on whether a payment was made to any party to help secure the release.

Asked about the Asahi report, a presidential spokesman told AFP that there had been no discussions with the Taliban apart from those on the troop withdrawal and the missionary issue.

The foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Canada have criticised South Korea for negotiating directly with the insurgents, saying it could embolden them.

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The Taliban had initially demanded the release of captured fighters from Afghan jails in return for the hostages’ lives, but the government in Kabul refused.