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Add an EventTaleban 'agree to free hostages'
The Taleban kidnapped 23 South Korean Christian charity workers from Ghazni province on 19 July.
They subsequently killed two male hostages, and released two women.
AFP news agency reported an Afghan tribal chief as saying that the hostages would be freed "in three or four days".
But Mr Cheon said the exact timing of their release could not yet be confirmed, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
Mr Cheon also said South Korea had agreed to a ban on its nationals' Christian missionary work in the country.
Direct talks
Tuesday's agreement came after South Korean negotiators met Taleban representatives in the central town of Ghazni.
Tribal elders and two diplomats from the Indonesian embassy in Kabul also took part in the talks.
It was the fourth time the two sides had held direct negotiations - all of meetings being mediated by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
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The South Korean statement read: "The Taliban agreed to free the 19 South Korean hostages on the condition that South Korea withdraws its troops within this year and halt missionary activities."
South Korea has always timetabled its troop withdrawal for this year.
But, Alan Fisher, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kabul, said: "The hostages will be released, but the conditions are not as clear cut as that."
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Several sources have told Al Jazeera that a sum of money was paid by Seoul.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper also quoted an Afghan source as saying the move was made after mediators decided the payment of a ransom was the only way to resolve the crisis.
However, a South Korean presidential spokesman said there had been no discussions with the Taliban about a ransom.
Ransom denied
Taliban and Afghan officials have also denied that a ransom was involved.
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http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/92022CCC-1094-4C32-9DAA-E55D6E9B4383.htm