The 19 Korean Christian hostages who had been separated and moved around by their Taliban captors in Afghanistan after their abduction six weeks ago were finally reunited Friday following their release this week and began making their trip back to South Korea.
Mixed tears of pain and joy were shed by the aid volunteers early Friday as they greeted one other and heard for the first time that two of their colleagues had been killed.“They wept. They hugged. They were shocked at the news of the two men who were killed. They didn’t know about that,” a South Korean diplomat, who requested to remain anonymous, told Agence France-Presse.
Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu, the leader of the group, was found dead on July 25, and the body of 29-year-old Shim Sung-min was found July 30. Both were killed by Taliban militants trying to pressure the Afghan government to release their imprisoned fighters.
A South Korean embassy officials said there was a 50-50 chance the Korean Christians would fly home Friday, according to AFP. The group of released hostages was later seen leaving their hotel for the airport in Kabul.
Also on Friday, the former hostages recounted their story in an interview with a South Korean media from their hotel. All foreign media were prohibited from entering the hotel.
“While kidnapped, all I could think about was staying alive,” 29-year-old Suh Myung-hwa said in an interview shown on South Korean television, according to The Associated Press. “I didn’t feel any pain under captivity, I guess because I was in a panic the whole time, but now that the tension is gone my body aches all over,” she said.
