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The government had Korean Ambassador to Iraq Lim Hong-jae start negotiations to secure the release of Kim Sun-il, who was kidnapped by Iraqi insurgents, and dispatched a delegation led by Jang Jae-ryong, a special envoy of the Foreign Ministry, to Iraq on Monday.
It decided to deploy the troops as planned, however, since the deployment is to support the reconstruction of Iraq. In addition, the government asked the public not to plan any travel to Iraq and strongly recommended that 67 Koreans living in Iraq leave there if possible.
Ahead of that, President Roh Moo-hyun instructed during a meeting with senior advisors, ¡°The most important task for the government is to save Kim Sun-il. Thus, the Foreign Ministry and all other relevant government offices should make every effort to do so. Also, we should make Iraqis understand that the purpose of our troop dispatch is not to harm Iraq or Arab countries but to support Iraq's reconstruction.¡±
The Foreign Ministry said that Ambassador Lim began negotiations with the kidnappers at 3;00 p.m. (10:00 a.m. local time) with the cooperation of the Iraqi clergy association, the U.S. Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), MFNC, and the Iraqi Foreign Ministry. The government, however, declined to identify negotiation parties, citing the safety of Kim.
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A negotiating team with chief negotiator Jang Jae-ryong (center) leaves for Iraq to discuss the safe return of Korean hostage Kim Sun-il on Monday.
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Separate from this, the government invited 12 Arab ambassadors in Korea to the Foreign Ministry to ask for their cooperation in bringing Kim home safely. Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, who is currently visiting China to attend the Asian Cooperation Dialogue, held a telephone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and held a face-to-face meeting with the foreign ministers of Oman and Bahrain to ask for help in gaining the release of Kim. Besides, Ban had an urgent meeting with Japanese counterpart Yoriko Kawaguchi to exchange opinions on similar cases where some Japanese were captured and released by Iraqi insurgents.
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Deputy Foreign Minister Choi Young-jin seeks cooperation from the ambassadors of Middle East countries for the safe release of Korean hostage Kim Sun-il at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
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The government was informed by the Korean Embassy in Qatar at 4:40 a.m. Monday that Kim had been kidnapped and immediately started working to take measures to save him, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Shin Bong-kil.
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With a Korean civilian taken hostage in Iraq, soldiers of the Zaitun Unit carry out a drill in a simulation-training field in Gyeonggi Province, Monday morning. The unit is scheduled to be dispatched to Iraq in early August./Yonhap
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(Kim In-gu, ginko@chosun.com )
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