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Finally, there is news that all of the 19 hostages been kidnapped by Taliban in Afghanistan will be released. The good news comes 41 days after the Koreans had been kidnapped. A spokesman for the presidential office said that during direct talks with the abductors, an agreement was reached over the release of all of the hostages on the condition that Korean troops leave Afghanistan by year's end and all Korean missionary work ends in that country as well. The Taliban confirmed the agreement and said they would be released in groups of three or four over the next few days.
With the good news, our minds turn to the Rev. Bae Hyung-kyu, 47, the leader of the group, and Shim Sung-min, another male hostage, who were killed by the Taliban abductors. The release of all of the remaining 19 hostages just makes the deaths of Bae and Shim that much more painful to bear. What is even harder to bear is the fact that they were innocent people who had traveled to Afghanistan to offer aid to the people of the war-ravaged country. There are no words that can provide solace to the families of the two men. We offer our deepest condolences.
We also offer words of consolation to the families of the 21 abductees, including the two women who were freed earlier. Until now, not only the hostages but their families had to live through hell. Family members embraced each other and burst into tears upon hearing news of the release. All Koreans are united in their joy at this moment.
The hostage taking of 23 aid workers posed a crisis our country had not faced until now. The sheer number of hostages limited the options available to Korean officials in this unprecedented crisis. But the Korean government resolved the situation while minimizing losses. They did their best.
The government of Afghanistan, caught between the demands of the Taliban to free its prisoners and the lives of so many hostages, had to suffer as much distress as the Korean government. This crisis could not have been solved without the aggressive support of Kabul. We can also infer that the cooperation of coalition forces, including the U.S. military, played a crucial role as well. The various intelligence and material support they provided must have offered solid assistance in tough negotiations with the Taliban. The help offered by Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other countries was also effective. The behind-the-scenes activities of these countries, which have some weight with the Taliban, must have been effective as well.
Some groups in Korea tried to use this unfortunate incident in their anti-American efforts. Early in the hostage crisis, the abducted aid workers received widespread criticism in Korea. There were also certain instances of antagonism toward Muslims. But none of these incidents led to violence. Such a mature level of public sentiment also helped to resolve the crisis.
Now, as we ensure the safe return of the hostages, we must reflect on the lessons from the crisis. For the first time ever, we had to negotiate directly with terrorist abductors. We cannot deny the fact that this precedent could possibly act as a burden on Korea's international image in the future. This crisis has left one lesson, that no matter how righteous the goals of an overseas activity may be, a lack of thorough consideration of the possible risks could put not only lives but the entire country at risk, and exact a high price on the national interest.
We once again offer our deepest condolences to the two hostages who were killed and wish to share the sorrow felt by their families. We hope the Korean government, other countries and related organizations to do their best to ensure the safe return of the released hostages.
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