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GHAZNI, Afghanistan: A face-to-face meeting between a South Korean delegation and the Taliban is being planned in a new bid to end a deadlock over 21 hostages, an Afghan official and the rebels said Thursday.
South Korea is desperate to end the more than two-week ordeal of the 21 largely female captives, most of whom are said to be ill, with the rebels threatening to kill more after shooting two dead.
The Afghan government and the Taliban told AFP talks were being planned, but a spokesman for the South Korean delegation said there had been no official confirmation of a meeting.
"A South Korean diplomatic delegation is to meet the Taliban for face-to-face talks to look for ways and solutions to free the South Korean nationals," Ghazni governor Mirajuddin Pattan told AFP.
"This request from the Koreans has been accepted by the Taliban and now we are working on how, where and when this meet could take place," he said.
A spokesman for the Taliban told AFP the group had selected a team to meet the South Koreans at a secret location.
"Our delegation is in contact with South Koreans and the government and are working on how and where exactly the meet could take place," Yousuf Ahmadi said.
"So far no specific place has been chosen for the talks. I cannot tell you where the meeting might take place because of security concerns."
"We have been waiting even after deadlines so that the Koreans get ready for the direct talks," he said.
Ahmadi said Wednesday the Taliban had not killed any more of the aid workers after the expiry of a deadline earlier in the day because the chance of direct talks with the South Koreans could open a "new phase of negotiations".
Talks between negotiators and the rebels are apparently deadlocked over the government's refusal to free Taliban fighters from its jails. - AFP/ac
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