NEWS CENTRAL/S. ASIA Taliban says Korean hostage killed Afghanistan's interior minister has said a
hostage swap is out of the question [AFP]
Taliban members have shot dead a male South Korean hostage, according to a spokesman for the Afghan anti-government group. On Monday, Qari Mohammad Yousuf told Reuters by telephone: "We shot dead a male captive because the government did not listen to our demands." AFP news agency quoted a Taliban spokesman as saying: "We set several deadlines and the Afghan government did not pay attention to our deadlines. "Finally tonight at 8:30 we killed one of the Koreans named Sung Sin with AK-47 gunshots." There was no independent confirmation of his death. The body of the hostage had been dumped in the Qarabagh district of the southern province of Ghazni, Ahmadi said. The body of the hostage had been dumped in the Qarabagh district of the southern province of Ghazni, Ahmadi said. The area is where 23 South Korean Christians, officially on an aid mission, were captured on July 19. They were seized while they were travelling on the highway between Kabul and Kandahar, in Ghazni, about 140km south of the Afghan capital. No comment The South Korean embassy in Afghanistan has refused to comment to the media on the case. Your Views Send us your views He reported there was a build up of security forces in the area. He reported there was a build up of security forces in the area. "There are a lot of troops and police in the area near the main highway where the South Koreans were kidnapped." The leader of the group, Bae Hyung-kyu, a 42-year-old pastor, was shot dead on Wednesday and his bullet-riddled body found in a desert area of the province. James Bays, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Afghanistan, said: "They [the Taliban] have extended [the deadline] in the past, but they say they are serious this time."The leader of the group, Bae Hyung-kyu, a 42-year-old pastor, was shot dead on Wednesday and his bullet-riddled body found in a desert area of the province. Bae's body arrived in South Korea on Monday. Melissa Chan, reporting for Al Jazeera from Seoul, said: "The family members have said that they will not hold a funeral until the rest of the hostages are back and safe." Taliban denial Earlier on Monday, Yousuf had denied that there had been any agreement to extend talks further. "We are still awaiting the decision of the leadership council. We have not extended the deadline till Wednesday," he told Reuters by telephone from an unknown location. Reports had said that the Taliban extended their "final" deadline at the request of Afghan mediators, but insisted that the release of Taliban prisoners was the only way to settle the crisis. The "final deadline" was issued by the movement's leadership council on Sunday and orginally ran out at 0730 GMT. Demands The Taliban have demanded the withdrawal of South Korean troops from Afghanistan and the return of prisoners held by the Afghan authorities. On Sunday, Yousuf said that the group's demands remained the same. He said: "We have the same previous demands; the first is accepting to withdraw the Korean forces from Afghanistan." "The second demand is still pending as the Afghan government delegation has said that it does not have the authority to release Taliban prisoners." Hostage swap? For their part, Afghanistan's interior ministry and the presidential palace have said a hostage swap is out of the question. An Afghan team that was supposed to have held more talks with the Taliban on Saturday could not reach the group because of security concerns in Ghazni province, a provincial source said. The Taliban has said that if anything happens to the South Korean hostages, "the Afghan government and the South Korean government will be responsible". Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Un portavoz de Talibán declaró que un rehén surcoreano ha sido ejecutado luego de que llegara a un término el plazo establecido para que el gobierno afgano cumpliera las demandas del grupo insurgente.

"Disparamos un cautivo hombre porque el gobierno no escucha nuestras demandas", dijo Qari Mohammad Yousuf, un portavoz del grupo, a ''Reuters'' por teléfono. "Matamos a uno de los rehenes hombres a las 6:30 de esta noche porque Kabul no escuchó nuestras repetidas demandas", continuó.

La ''AFP'' citó a un portavoz de Talibán diciendo: "Finalmente hoy a la noche a las 8:30 matamos a uno de los coreanos llamado Sung Sin con un disparo de una AK-47". Aún no hay explicación de la discrepancia de 2 horas.

Yousuf indicó que el Talibán ha amenazado en matar a más rehenes si no se cumplen sus demandas por la liberación de prisioneros de Talibán. Aún no se ha fijado un nuevo ultimátum. Yousuf comentó a ''Reuters'' que el cuerpo de Sung Sin fue arrojado al costado de una ruta. El Talibán también demandó la retirada de las tropas surcoreanas de Afganistán.

Si se confirma la muerte, Sung Sin sería el segundo rehén surcoreano en ser matado por el Talibán desde la captura en la provincia de Gazni de los 23 misioneros cristianos el 19 de julio. El 25 de julio, el Talibán mató a Bae Hyung-kyu, un pastor de 42 años y líder del grupo. Su cuerpo fue encontrado en el área desértica de la provincia de Gazni.

El Gobernador de Gazni, Marajudin Pathan, declaró que los oficiales estaban al tanto de los asesinatos de Talibán, pero el cuerpo no ha sido encontrado, aunque la policía ha comenzado a buscar.

"Gazni es un área bastante vasta, así que realmente no sabemos donde está el cuerpo", dijo Pathan.