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Koreans say U.S. must help free captives

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published August 3, 2007

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korea's frustration over the plight of Christian volunteers seized by the Taliban is starting to focus on the United States, a frequent target of resentment here.

Politicians and citizens of all persuasions are increasingly calling on Washington to help resolve the 15-day-old standoff, believing the United States to be the only country capable of pushing Afghanistan to meet the captors' demands that Taliban prisoners be freed.

The United States has so far simply said it remains in contact with the South Korean and Afghan governments on the issue. As the hostage crisis drags on, South Koreans are increasingly questioning what they have received from the United States in exchange for sending soldiers to support the U.S.-led coalitions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The course of the crisis could affect this year's presidential election in this key U.S. ally on China's doorstep. An anti-American backlash could boost liberals who have increasingly pushed for Seoul to assert its independence from Washington.

Taliban militants kidnapped the 23 South Koreans near Ghazni, Afghanistan, on July 19. Demanding the release of militant prisoners, including some held by the United States, the hostage-takers have killed two male captives.

A delegation of top South Korean lawmakers left Thursday for Washington to press their case for an exception to the U.S. policy of refusing to make concessions to terrorists.

Richard Boucher, a senior State Department official, said the United States is not ruling out military force to free the hostages.

But a South Korean official said Foreign Minister Song Min Soon and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte had agreed during a meeting Thursday in the Philippines to rule out a military attempt.

In South Korea, a nightly candlelight vigil calling for the South Korean hostages to return home safely has recently moved to a new site in central Seoul next to the U.S. Embassy. Some protesters have carried signs with a U.S. flag being smashed by a fist and appealed to the White House: "Bush: Don't kill, negotiate."

President Roh Moo Hyun's office has been more diplomatic, simply asking the "international community" for flexibility, although it's clear the message is aimed at the Americans.

[Last modified August 3, 2007, 00:46:41]