Afghan authorities on Tuesday recovered the body of a second South Korean shot dead by Taliban kidnappers who threatened to kill more of the 21 hostages if Kabul does not free rebel prisoners by 0730 GMT on Wednesday.
The blood-stained body of the bespectacled man was dumped in a field of clover beside a road in Arzoo, a village some 10 km (6 miles) from the eastern city of Ghazni."If the Kabul administration and Korean government do not give a positive reply to our demand about the release of Taliban prisoners by tomorrow 1200 (local time), then we will start killing other hostages," Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousuf told Reuters by telephone from an unknown location.
President Hamid Karzai's spokesman said bowing to Taliban demands would encourage more kidnapping.
"We shouldn't encourage kidnapping by actually accepting their demands ... In this situation we are doing what is the best for the interests of the hostages, and government," Humayun Hamidzada told reporters, without elaborating.
Karzai came under harsh criticism in March for releasing a group of Taliban prisoners in exchange for an Italian journalist.
"If we keep on responding positively to the demands of terrorists, we will face more problems," Hamidzada said.
Taliban spokesman Yousuf said Afghan negotiators had not contacted the Taliban since the second hostage was killed on Monday and said the insurgents suspected the Afghan government and foreign troops were planning a rescue bid.
LIVES AT RISK
Any attempt to rescue the hostages by force would put the Koreans' lives at risk, he warned.
The victim was identified as Shim Sung-min, 29, a former employee of an IT firm who did volunteer work to help the poor.
Police recovered his body from Arzoo, some 80 km (50 miles) from where the group of 18 women and five men were seized near Qarabagh on the main road south from Kabul. The distance between the two places undermines Afghan government claims to have the kidnappers surrounded.
