Two female South Korean hostages are under protection after they were freed by Taliban militants in Afghanistan on Monday, in the first sign of hope since negotiations began last week.
The woman, who wore scarves on their heads, burst into tears upon seeing the Red Cross officials at the rural Afghan roadside where they were released.
An Afghan named Haji Zahir drove the women to the meeting point in rural Ghazni province and also entered the Red Cross vehicle with them.
The women were driven to the U.S. base in Ghazni city, where American soldiers searched them before letting them enter the premises.
The South Korean Foreign Ministry identified the freed hostages as Kim Kyung-ja and Kim Ji-na. Media reports previously said the women were 37 and 32 years old, respectively.
The two hostages, who the Taliban have said are ill, are under protection in a safe location, the South Korean government said in confirming their release.
Fourteen women and five men are still being held by Taliban militants.
The Taliban decided to release these two "for the sake of good relations between the Korean people and the Taliban," Qari Yousef Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the insurgent group, told The Associated Press.
"We are expecting the Korean people and government to force the Kabul administration and the U.S. to take a step toward releasing Taliban prisoners," Ahmadi said by telephone from an undisclosed location.
The two women were released after face-to-face talks Friday and Saturday in Ghazni between two Taliban leaders and four South Korean officials.
Few other details have been released about the health of the women, who were believed to be in need of medication.
"All I can say at this stage is that the ICRC, the International Committee of the Red Cross, has facilitated the release of two South Korean hostages in Afghanistan today," Carla Haddad, an ICRC spokesperson told Â鶹´«Ã½net by phone from Geneva.
The women were among 23 South Koreans, all volunteers from a church group, kidnapped by Taliban militants on July 19. Two of the male captives were later executed by gunfire.
"We cannot speculate on their health, this will be up to the Korean authorities to follow up on. All we can say is they are safe, autonomous, and will be handed over in the coming minutes to the Korean delegation in the town of Ghazni," Haddad said.
She said the ICRC was approached by both South Korean authorities and the group holding the hostages to act as an intermediary, or facilitator of discussions between the two groups, and has been doing so since last week.
Taliban leaders have demanded that 21 militant prisoners be released in exchange for the Koreans' lives, but the Afghani government has said it is not prepared to let go of any prisoners.
"Our position is the same, we are not releasing (any Taliban prisoners)," Ghazni Gov. Marajudin Pathan told reporters.
Haddad would not speculate whether the ICRC will be involved with further negotiations, but said she hoped the group could help facilitate discussions that would result in more hostages being freed.
"We urge the kidnappers to release our people and we will make efforts for the safety and release of South Koreans," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Hee-yong.
The remaining hostages will be safe while negotiations continue, Ahmadi said.
"During these negotiations, there will no threats to the other Korean hostages. We are waiting for the result of these negotiations. After the negotiations, the Taliban leadership will make a decision about these 19 Korean hostages," he said.
