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The Taliban has issued a new death threat pressuring Kabul to release imprisoned Taliban rebels in exchange for the 19 Korean hostages.
Direct negotiations to free the captives stopped late last week but reports indicate Korea and the Taliban have their phone lines open.
The Taliban renewed its threat to kill the 19 Korean hostages if its demands are ignored.
A purported Taliban spokesman Zabi-hullah Mujahed told the French news agency AFP and Japan's Kyodo News in a separate phone interview on Thursday that if the group's imprisoned fighters are not released soon the Korean captives will face death.
Mujahed said the Korean hostages are in poor health due to harsh weather conditions and lack of food supplies.
He also said while the Taliban wants the crisis to be resolved through negotiations, it seems U.S. authorities are creating problems.
The spokesman said however the Taliban leadership did not set a deadline for a prisoners-for-hostage exchange.
Mujahed is reportedly filling in for Qari Yousef Ahamadi who claims to be the number one spokesperson for the militant rebels.
Ahmadi is said to have been injured and is recovering from bullet wounds after NATO forces in Afghanistan raided suspected Taliban hideouts earlier this week.
The Koreans have been in captivity for more than five weeks after their bus was seized by the Taliban in Ghazni Province in southeastern Afghanistan last month.
A total of 23 Korean relief workers were kidnapped. Since the outbreak of the hostage standoff two Korean male captives have been murdered by their captors.
Last week, two female hostages were set free following several rounds of face-to-face hostage negotiations in Ghazni between Korea and the Taliban representatives.
The two parties are said to be maintaining close phone contact to resume direct bargaining, suspended for almost a week now.
The families of the hostages have reiterated they will not respond or make public statements over every foreign media report unless the Korean government confirms they are true.
Meanwhile the families of the 19 Korean paid a visit to the Kazakhstan Embassy in Seoul and met with the Ambassador there to urge his government's support.
Arirang News
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