Korea Agrees to Direct Talks With Taliban

Arab news channel Al Jazeera quoted the Taliban as saying they had not killed any more Korean hostages as they believes the chance of direct talks with the Korean delegation could open a new phase in negotiations.

Ahmadi earlier told AP and AFP the Koreans had not requested direct talks with the militants, but the insurgents would be willing to hold such a meeting in Taliban-controlled territory. Ahmadi said the surviving 21 Korean hostages are not in Ghazni Province, where they were kidnapped, but are held in separate groups in Zabul, Kandahar and Helmand provinces.

Meanwhile, President Roh Moo-hyun's special envoy Baek Jong-chun is now in Pakistan. In a meeting with the leader of Pakistan’s pro-Taliban opposition party Jamiat Ulama Islam, he hinted at an earlier withdrawal of Korean troops from Afghanistan, AFP reported. It said Baek told party leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman that Korea will pull its forces out of Afghanistan before the original schedule set at late this year.

Also on Thursday, Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said Korea and the U.S. rule out any military rescue operations. He made the remark after a meeting with U.S

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