By NNN-KUNA
Kabul : The Korean delegation Saturday resumed negotiations with the Taliban to reach a final settlement on the release of the 21 hostages.
The face-to-face talks were started Friday evening which continued till late night.
However, the talks were suspended after the two sides did not reach an agreement.
They again started the parleys at the office of the Afghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) this morning and some officials expressed the hope that there would be some breakthrough in the coming 48 hours.
The two Taliban negotiators, Mullah Bashir and Mullah Nasrullah also talked to newsmen outside the building where they remained engaged with the Korean delegation.
This was the first direct interaction of a Taliban leader with media in Afghanistan since their removal from power in late 2001.
The two Taliban negotiators told journalists that their demand regarding release of their prisoners in exchange for the safe release of the Korean hostages was intact. They said they would not accept any thing less than that.
Without going into details of their talks with the Korean delegation, they hoped that some decision would be taken in a day or two. The Korean side or the Afghan government did not issue any comment about the fresh Taliban statement.
Meanwhile, sources told KUNA that the two sides again started negotiations in Ghazni and it is hoped that some agreement would be finalized by tonight. The official source, requesting anonymity, said they were upbeat about a possible agreement in the coming 48 hours.
The 23 Korean citizens, two of whom were later killed, were kidnapped by Taliban on July 19. Earlier, Taliban spokesman Yousaf Ahmadi had told this correspondent over the telephone that two of the women hostages were seriously ill. The remaining 21 captives included 16 women and two men.