SKorea denies reports of seriously ill hostages

Seoul, Aug 7: South Korea's foreign minister today denied reports that the health of two of the 21 Korean hostages held by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan had deteriorated to a life-threatening condition.

''The hostages can't be perfectly healthy after nearly 20 days in captivity,'' Song Min-soon told local reporters, according to his ministry. ''There are no signs of health problems that could pose a threat to their safety.'' Taliban insurgents said Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US President George W. Bush, who met at the Camp David retreat in Maryland yesterday, must agree to free jailed rebels or be responsible for the deaths of the Korean hostages.

Taliban officials have said two of the female hostages were seriously ill. They are holding 18 women and three men, after killing two men.

The South Korean government is under intense domestic pressure to secure the release of the hostages, but Seoul has told the insurgents there is a limit to what it can do, as it has no power to free prisoners in Afghan jails.

Afghanistan has refused to release Taliban prisoners, saying that would encourage even more kidnappings.

South Korea has proposed holding face-to-face talks with the Taliban as a way of breaking the impasse, but the two sides have not been able to agree on a venue for the discussions.

Reuters>