The South Korean government has never paid money to Taliban militants for the safe of South Korean hostages, said South Korean Presidential Spokesman Cheon Ho-seon on Friday.
Cheon made the remarks in response to a report by the weekly magazine Newsweek, which cited an alleged senior Taliban commander as saying that a Taliban group received money from South Korea after the kidnapping. It also reported that a South Korean envoy, a Ghazni member of Afghan parliament and some government negotiators may have been talking to the Taliban group.
"The Newsweek report is groundless," Cheon said.
"The South Korean government is not in a position to give a direct answer to the Taliban's demand that its prisoners be swapped for South Korean hostages. Through the direct contacts, we intend to stress that our capabilities to meet Taliban demands are limited," he added.
Taliban militants kidnapped 23 South Koreans in Ghazni on July 19. They have killed two South Korean hostages so far.
Source: Xinhua
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