South Korean Hostage Crisis Update

Afghan authorities have recovered the body of a second South Korean after demands by the Taliban were not met. The Taliban holding a group of now 21 South Korean have demanded that the Afghan government and coalition forces release a group of Taliban being held in Afghan or coalition prisons.

South Korea pleaded with the international community to set aside the normal practice of refusing to cave into hostage-takers' demands, urging a peaceful resolution to the standoff. Relatives of some of the 21 remaining hostages appealed for U.S. help in freeing their loved ones.

South Korea ''is well aware of how the international community deals with these kinds of abduction cases,'' said a statement from the president's office. ''But it also believes that it would be worthwhile to use flexibility in the cause of saving the precious lives of those still in captivity and is appealing (to) the international community to do so.''

The comments came after Afghan officials found the body of Shim Sung-min, 29, a former information technology worker who was volunteering with the South Korean church group on an aid mission to Afghanistan.

He was killed Monday after two deadlines given by the Taliban demanding the release of insurgent prisoners passed with no action. Last week, the church group's leader, Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu, was fatally shot in unclear circumstances.

A purported Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, said senior Taliban leaders decided to kill Shim because the government had not met Taliban demands to trade prisoners for the Christian volunteers, who were in their 13th day of captivity Tuesday.

They killed another South Korean over the weekend because he was too sick.

The South Korean government appears willing to make whatever concessions are necessary to secure the release of the hostages, but the problem with making deals along these lines is that it only encourages the terrorists and thugs around the world to continue taking hostages because of the potential for a big payday.

UPDATE:
The Taliban have announced a new deadline. If their demands are not met by Wednesday morning local time, they will again kill their hostages.

Taleban set the government a new deadline of noon (0730 GMT) Wednesday to meet its demands in order to save 21 South Koreans, a day after a second hostage was killed.

The hardline Islamic militia wants the government to free at least eight Taleban prisoners in Afghan jails, a demand government negotiators have rejected.

“If our demands are not met by then, we will start killing the rest of the South Koreans,” Taleban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP.

The bullet-riddled body of the second hostage to be killed since 23 were captured nearly two weeks ago was found overnight in an area of the southern province of Ghazni, about 140 kilometres (90 miles) south of Kabul.

“It was the body of a South Korean. There were bullet wounds in the body,” Ghazni police chief Alishah Ahmadzai told AFP.

An AFP correspondent who saw the corpse said it had been dumped at the side of the road and had four or five bullet holes to the body and head.

UPDATE:
Here's photos from the scene where the body was recovered - graphic images not suitable for all folks.

UPDATE:
Michelle Malkin has more on the ongoing crisis.

UPDATE:
Added photo above. Others blogging: Junkyard Blog, and Noel Heikkinen.