Korea 'Paid US$20 Million to Taliban' Viewing the Hostage Crisis Through Game Theory Lessons Learned from the Afghan Hostage Crisis Hostages Still Suffering Effects of Their Ordeal Korean Missionary Work in Afghanistan in the Spotlight What the Afghan Hostage Crisis has Cost Korea

Reto Stocker, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross' delegation in Kabul, told the Chosun Ilbo by phone at 7 p.m. Thursday that he had 10 minutes earlier taken over four hostages from tribal elders in Zabul Province, adjacent to Ghazni Province, where they were held. AP reported the remaining three hostages were handed over to ICRC officials at 8:30 p.m. Thursday. “The two women and one man were covered in dust as they walked out of the desert, accompanied by three armed men, and were turned over to waiting officials of the International Committee of the Red Cross.” The Taliban apparently held the Koreans in separate groups in several provinces and released those held in Ghazni Province first.

Afghan men walk near the venue where Korean hostages were being released by their Taliban captors in Janda, some 100kms south of Ghazni on Thursday. The final seven Korean hostages of nineteen have been handed over by Taliban representatives to officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Taliban captured 23 Christian aid workers in Ghazni province six weeks ago. They killed two of them. With Thursday's release, the remainder have all been freed./AFP

Gov’t to seek reimbursement from church, families

Meanwhile, the government will seek reimbursement from families of the hostages and their church for the cost of resolving the hostage crisis.

A government official said Thursday the government, while putting the welfare of the hostages above everything else, “has conveyed the decision to seek indemnity to the families of the hostages and their church. The families and the church have agreed." Asked how much, he said, "The government is first of all considering seeking reimbursement of the exact amount of its expenses -- air tickets, transporting the bodies of the killed hostages, and the cost of evacuation to a hospital." The government has not decided whether to seek reimbursement for the travel expenses of the many government officials who were sent to Afghanistan to negotiate for the hostages’ release, the official added.

A recently released Korean hostage is seen in an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) vehicle after he was released by the Taliban in Ghazni province, Afghanistan on Thursday./AP

Kwon Hyuk-soo, a spokesman of the Saemmul Church in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province which sent the hostages to Afghanistan, told reporters the church decided to bear all expenses for air tickets for the released hostages' trip home and their medical treatment, and for the transport of the bodies of the late Rev. Bae Hyung-kyu and the late Shim Sung-min, who were earlier killed by their captors. "We have not been informed by the Foreign Ministry of either ransom or of expenses for the government officials who traveled to Afghanistan to solve the hostage crisis, other than those expenses I've mentioned before,” the church elder said.

Rumors of a huge ransom are rampant, despite denials from both the Korean government and the Taliban. Alan Fisher, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Kabul said, "I spoke to one senior Afghan authority who, while not confirming the figure, did say that money was paid -- that the South Koreans had paid cash to the Taliban." He added, "We've certainly heard rumors around Kabul -- the figure of around 20 million pounds has been bandied around." A foreign diplomatic source based in Seoul also said, "I understand that the Korean government had allocated US$70 million before beginning negotiations for the release of the hostages. But it's not clear what exact amount of ransom was actually delivered."

(englishnews@chosun.com )