Deal Reached For Release Of S. Koreans

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Aug. 28 -- Negotiators in Afghanistan said Tuesday they had reached agreement on a deal that will allow 19 South Korean church volunteers to go free after six weeks in Taliban captivity, apparently ending a hostage crisis that has gripped both nations, officials said.

While the hostages had not been released as of late Tuesday, Taliban leaders said they would be freed within the next few days.

According to the agreement, South Korea said it would withdraw its 200 noncombat troops in Afghanistan by the end of this year -- a move it had previously said it would take -- and ban missionary work by Korean Christians in the country.

An official with the International Committee of the Red Cross, which had helped facilitate the negotiations, said they concluded successfully. "In the very near future, all of the hostages will be released. It is a comprehensive agreement," said Reto Stocker, head of the agency's delegation in Afghanistan.

The Taliban initially took 23 South Koreans hostage, but two -- including a church pastor -- were killed by their captors. Two female hostages were freed Aug. 13. The church members were abducted July 19 in the central Afghan province of Ghazni as they traveled by bus along the treacherous highway linking the capital, Kabul, with the southern city of Kandahar.

In Seoul on Tuesday night, families of the hostages reacted to news of the agreement with whoops of joy, hugging and tears.

"I would like to dance," Cho Myung Ho, mother of 28-year-old hostage Lee Joo Yeon, told reporters after hearing of the deal.

Later, the outpouring of emotion and relief suddenly dissipated as many of the hostages' relatives appeared at a nationally televised news conference. They stood stoically in what appeared to be a show of collective remorse, and their spokesman apologized for a 41-day-long hostage drama that they acknowledged had upset the people and government of South Korea.

"We are very sorry to cause the nation so much concern and worry," said Cha Sung Min, whose 32-year-old sister, Cha Hye Jin, was one of the hostages.

South Korea appeared to give up little of substance in its negotiations. The government had already said it would be withdrawing its troops and has long sought to prevent missionaries from working in countries where they are unwanted.

The Taliban had alleged that the abducted Koreans were missionaries, but the Korean government and relatives of the hostages had insisted they were in Afghanistan doing aid work.

The abduction of the Koreans, coupled with other recent kidnappings, has ignited fears among foreigners in Afghanistan that the Taliban has developed a strategic plan to kidnap others. One German and four Afghans are still being held by the group.