Taliban Says Hostage Talks Going Nowhere

Taliban militants on Thursday held a second round of face-to-face talks with South Korean officials on the fate of 19 church volunteers held captive in Afghanistan for almost one month, but there was no word of a breakthrough.

Mullah Nasrullah, a senior Taliban member and one of the two members of the negotiating delegation, told CBS News that the talks lasted five hours, but the "outlook was poor," due to the continuing resistance of the U.S. and Afghan governments to meet demands.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said the South Korean delegation told militant negotiators they could not free eight Taliban prisoners held by Afghan authorities — a key Taliban demand for the release of any more of the South Korean hostages.

Nasrullah said he "clearly saw distress" on the faces of the South Korean negotiators.

He told CBS News that despite the seeming inability of the South Koreans to win the necessary concessions from the U.S. and Afghan governments, the Taliban was hopeful that the talks could continue next week.

South Korean officials were not immediately available for comment.

The two sides talked at the offices of Afghan Red Crescent in Ghazni. The International Committee of Red Cross helped facilitate the talks.

Nasrullah said some of the remaining 19 hostages had minor health problems, but none was in a serious condition.

The Taliban delegation arrived several hours after the talks were scheduled to start, said Franz Rauchenstein, an ICRC official. There was no immediate explanation what caused the delay.

The Taliban left after the talks in ICRC vehicles, without speaking to reporters.

The fresh talks come after the release on Monday of two women who were among 23 South Koreans kidnapped by the militants on July 19 as they were traveling by bus from Kabul to the former Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. The kidnappers have executed two male hostages. Fourteen women and five men are still being held.

Two militant representatives held two rounds of face-to-face talks with South Korean officials last Friday and Saturday at the Red Crescent office, after the Afghan government agreed to guarantee the safety of the militant delegation.

The Taliban want South Korean officials to pressure the Afghan government to free the imprisoned militants and will not harm the rest of the hostages while the talks are ongoing, Ahmadi said earlier.

The Afghan government was heavily criticized in March for freeing five Taliban prisoners to win the release of an Italian journalist, and have ruled out any further such deals, saying they would encourage more kidnappings.

Ahmadi said the release of the two women was a show of goodwill. South Korean officials have called for the unconditional release of the rest of the hostages, while also calling on Afghan authorities to show flexibility.