"Both sides agreed that South Korean military forces and their missionary groups would leave Afghanistan and the Taliban would free the hostages very soon," a Taliban representative said.

Two other male hostages were already killed by the Taliban, including the group’s leader Bae Hyun-kyu, 42, a youth pastor at the hostages’ home church, the Saemmul Presbyterian Church in Bundang, and fellow Christian, Shim Sung Min, who was 29.

In Seoul, the South Korean Government confirmed the Taliban had promised to release the other captives unharmed. "The South Korean Government welcomes the agreement on the hostage release," presidential spokesman Cheon Ho-Seon told reporters.

TROOPS LEAVE

He said South Korea would withdraw 200 of its troops stationed in Afghanistan - as planned by the end of the year - and suspend missionary work. Since their capture, Seoul already announced harsher penalties for travel to banned areas.

The 23 hostages allegedly made their trip illegally. South Korea is second only to the United States in the number of Christian missionaries it sends abroad, with an estimated 12,000 engaged in projects in about 160 countries, according to estimates. 

Tuesday's announced deal came after tough face-to-face talks with Taliban militants in the town of Ghazni. Officials from the International Committee of the Red Cross helped coordinate the meeting.

Taliban militants originally captured 23 South Korean church volunteers as they drove through Ghazni province on July 19.

Commentators said the agreement appears to be a significant compromise for the Taliban - which had first demanded the release of Taliban prisoners. But the Afghan government, pressured by Washington, ruled out such a deal.

"NO CONCESSIONS" 

Provincial Governor Merajuddin Pattan said the government was not involved in negotiations Tuesday and has made no concessions to the militants, the Voice Of America (VOA) reported. "There is no and there will be no kind of cease-fire between the Afghan government and the terrorist group, the Taliban," he said.

Relatives and family members of the hostages already rejoiced when hearing the news. "The families are rejoicing at the news. They are busy calling other family members and friends at the moment to pass the news," Bang Yong-kyun, pastor at Saemmul Church outside Seoul, said in published remarks monitored by BosNewsLife.

The church organized prayer vigils and youngsters supporting families praying in the church,
BosNewsLife learned. Families have said in a statement that they were "sorry to have caused any problems to the country over the kidnappings."
 
At the same time South Korean missionaries traveling to predominantly Afghanistan have suggested they only want to spread "the Gospel of Jesus Christ" who they believe loves Muslims too. The South Korean hostage taking was the largest single kidnapping case in Afghanistan since American forces ousted the Taliban government in 2001.

Aid groups and other observers say kidnappings are on the rise in the country as the Taliban
allegedly wants to highlight the failure of the US-backed government to protect its citizens
across the troubled nation. (BosNewsLife's Stefan J. Bos and Eric Leijenaar contributed to this report. BosNewsLife Anti-Terrorism Task Force: Covering the Threats of Our Time.)