CBS News was some how able to arrange an interview with one of the Korean hostages. Here is what the Korean hostage , Im Hyun-joo had to say:
"We are in a very difficult time. Please help us," said the woman, who gave her name as Yo Cyun-ju. "We are all pleading for you to help us get out of here as soon as possible… Really, we beg you."
"All of us are sick and in very bad condition," she said. Yo beseeched the South Korean government and the international community to make a deal with the Taliban to win their release.
She said the hostages were being held in two groups — she was with 17 other women, and the men were being held separately.
While the hostages are begging the government to meet the Taliban’s demands Korean President Roh has dispatched a presidential envoy Baek Jong-chun to Afghanistan. Baek before leaving was talking tough:
"The organization responsible for the abduction will be held accountable for taking the life of a Korean citizen," said Baek Jong Chun, chief secretary for security and foreign policy for President Roh Moo Hyun.
However, the Chosun is reporting that his real mission is to pressure Afghan President Karzai to agree to a prisoner swap. Simultaneously the Korean media continues to put the onus on American and Afghan governments to free the hostages:
In face-to-face talks, Korea must abide by international standards and regulations in dealing with terrorist groups. This is unavoidable when the entire world is looking at how Korea handles itself diplomatically.
But on the other side, we must use all the resources available to us. It is impossible for us to physically suppress the terrorist group. Regarding the slaying of Rev. Bae, the Korean government said the abductors cannot avoid being held responsible for their actions. But right now, there is no viable method of retaliation. If that’s the case, there is no other alternative than to deliver a strong message to Kabul and Washington that saving Korean lives must be the top priority.
"Impossible for us to physically suppress the terrorist group"? How about Baek Jong-chun load up the 707th Special Missions Battalion (ROK Delta) sitting over in Seongnam to go with him. The excuse that the ROK government cannot physically do anything is totally fraudulent. The ROK government can physically do something about the hostage crisis, but chooses not to. Also it seems a bit naive to say the least that Kabul’s top priority should be saving Korean lives. What about the lives of Afghan civilians that releasing a bunch of Taliban killers from prison would definitely impact. Karzai’s top priority is the safety of his own people, not Koreans. If I was Karzai I would tell the Korean government that if you want me to release these Taliban prisoners than you send me a brigade of ROK Special Forces to go hunt them down after the Taliban prisoners are released. Now that would be sending a message to the Taliban that Korea will not stand for the kidnapping and killing of its civilians. However, knowing President Roh expect more appeasement and payoffs to the Taliban.
More details have also come out about the botched attempt to pay ransom. Apparently the eight hostages were actually put on a bus to meet up for the ransom money, but turned the bus around when they saw government tanks. After that the male hostage Bae Hyung-kyu was killed.
Choe Sang-hun of the International Herald Tribune has a good article about Christian missionaries in South Korea and its role in this incident.
Michelle Malkin as well has another posting up and has also been closely following the hostage crisis.
Popularity: 5%
10:43 am on July 28th, 2007 1
Boy, I wish ROK military show some muscle on this crisis. I really like to witness the ROK military’s combined arms action on their Special Operation Capability to show KPA that the ROK military is the best in the world.
Then again South Korea have wimpy President like Roh who would not want to hurt anyone’s feeling and do not want to risk any of his military personnel’s life.
If Roh wants to get the hostages return safely, just send about 2000 ROK combat troops whether they either Marines, Mountain Light Division, Airborne Brigades, Ranger Battalions, or even para-military anti-terrorists police SWAT team. Then tell Talibans that if they do not release hostages, then these elite ROK troops will come after them. (Also to mentioned about ROK Vietnam War experience.) They will do whatever they have to do to get their hostages free.
Then again, I am dreaming. Its President Roh we are talking about.
12:23 pm on July 28th, 2007 2
Everything I have ever read about South Korean soldiers in Vietnam was HIGHLY complementary, at least from a soldiering standpoint… from a bargirl’s point of view, not so much.
Korean soldiers were brutal and effective… and they accomplished their mission of separating VC from their heads.
So. What happened?
The Korean government should tell the kidnappers, “Here is the deal. We have only 200 support troops over there because the public isn’t really in great support of a war that does not affect them. However, if Korean citizens are harmed while trying to do charitable work, the public starts thinking that the war DOES affect them. Next thing ya know, the public isn’t so against sending a whole bunch of our most elite soldiers to see how many toweled heads they can stake out around the perimeter fence.”
The near-future actions of the Korean government, be they bribes or ruthless military response, will be the deciding factor in determining the actual shape of the Korean peninsula…
…is it a fierce tiger? Or, as the Japanese believe, just a simple, harmless rabbit.
There are the makings of a very good political cartoon there.
J!
12:25 pm on July 28th, 2007 3
The ROK’s Christian Problem…
Sometimes individuals and organizations are culpable, and perhaps censure, even reorganization or dissolution, is necessary.
The confluence of Protestant Christianity, American missionaries, and Japanese imperialism on the history of Korea from the lat…
12:50 pm on July 28th, 2007 4
Sadly I say, my money is on the Rabbit CH. I like to win on my betting. Korea talks ALOT. I don’t think they know how to deal with a group that doesn’t care about what is or is not Politically Correct. A group that Talks vs a group that Kills. Too bad the ROK Army and SF will not be given a chance. I’ve read that the VC would run to the American Forces to give up rather than try and Fight the ROKs.
They deserve the opportunity! I’m sure Heads would roll.
1:06 pm on July 28th, 2007 5
I know plenty of ROK soldiers that would love to have a chance to bag some of these Taliban a**holes. It is not a matter of capability for the ROK Army, it is a matter of political will from the pacifist Roh. Roh would have a much stronger bargaining hand if he had 3,000 special ops soldiers sitting in Afghanistan to go after and specifically kill these Taliban a**holes if anymore Koreans are killed.
If the Taliban knew that 3,000 kimchi crunching ROK bad asses are just waiting for the word to take them out they would think twice about harming another hostage.
However, one thing you can count on with President Roh is ineptitude so surely he will be incompetent at handling this crisis as well.
1:49 pm on July 28th, 2007 6
It’s a shame that the South Korean government has no backbone.
2:10 pm on July 28th, 2007 7
Israel was a small, beseiged nation without as much economic might as SK, and it didn’t just roll over to terrorists….
4:20 pm on July 28th, 2007 8
I think the Hostages are toast!!!!! Korea will not send anyone else to Afghanistan because Korea has become of the nation of “ME” . I am going to park in the middle of the road and screw the people behind me because all I care about is me.
Plus all available funds are being allocated to the North Koreans
9:31 pm on July 28th, 2007 9
Let’s start creating a myth that was created in Vietnam. Kimchi will make a person big, strong and crazy to kill. It worked on psych warfare on to VC and NVA. Then let’s have a combined US-ROK SOF exercise in Afghanistan instead of Korea just to deliver some messeges to Talibans. I know that ROK SOF units are grinding their teeth and sharpening their bayonets at this time. All volunteer units like these ROK SOF battalions wants to prove to the world that they are the best.
What is ROK MOFAT waiting for? After killing Rev Bae, diplomacy and negotiation have failed. Now, no more talking, its time for action. Its time for ROK MND to show what they are made of.
11:23 pm on July 28th, 2007 10
The more I think about it, the crazier this whole notion sounds….
Corea is going to pay off Karzai to release a bunch of Taliban that NATO is going to have to round up again, and then the Christian tourists are going to return to Corea to be persecuted like a bunch of North Korean defectors.
What a crock.
1:21 am on July 29th, 2007 11
Wow. I would have thought ROKSF had been in Afghanistan all along, as part of some combined unconventional warfare TF, but I guess things have changed.
Nope, my guess is that the ROK public might be all about sending a strong message and seeking to punish the taliban, but they’d rather see it done with somebody else’s kids, like ours.
6:21 am on July 29th, 2007 12
Bob, the current government has pretty much casterated the ROK Army. They will not allow the ROK Army to do anything to dangerous. The ROK Army is willing to dangerous work which was evident by the ROK Army wanting to take over the Kirkuk sector in Iraq but President Roh made them go and be aid workers in Kurdistan and be guarded by the Kurdish Peshmerga instead.
This whole Afghanistan thing will probably be played out with big money exchanging hands one way or another. If a rescue operation has to be launched the Korean government would not want the ROK SF to be involved because if it goes wrong they can blame the foreigners for the death of the hostages. Roh is a politician (very poor one at that) and not a leader. So don’t expect anything bold, but do expect plenty of CYA. You already see the Korean media prepping the public with the blame America storyline.
9:02 am on July 29th, 2007 13
This is the time that Roh can shined right before end of his term. But he is letting it pass and he wanted to be known as Peaceful (wimpy) President. What is purpose of having a 600,000 plus strong military force when the country refused to use them to protect their own citizen? They have the strength, capability, resources and training to do the job.
11:53 am on July 29th, 2007 14
“You already see the Korean media prepping the public with the blame America storyline.”
But public opinion is so low they’re not buying it. Message boards at Naver and the Chosun Ilbo utter some of the same sentiments found here:
- Let’s learn from Israel, which hunted down and killed the Munich terrorists.
- The Left has turned Korea into an international traitor.
- We should send more troops and money to fight the Taliban and help America in the war on terror.
The most rec’d messages on the boards are critical of the missionary trip itself, the brutality of the Taliban, and of the Roh government’s handling of the crisis.
1:46 pm on July 29th, 2007 15
Sonagi,
Thus the need to prep the public because many people in Korea are pissed off about this whole situation. I was just reading an email from my brother in law and he was expressing the same frustrations you mention that Korean netizens are saying.
3:31 pm on July 29th, 2007 16
I just read from the Washington Post that military action is emerging as an option.
How will they carry out the rescue operation, when (supposedly) suicide bombers are stationed around the hostages?
4:22 pm on July 29th, 2007 17
Ok if I see the word “netizens” again I am going to throw up.
11:42 pm on July 30th, 2007 18
On the way to learning something else, I did a lot of reading into how the Brits used to handle the so-called “Northwestern Frontier” during the days of the Raj.
The Brits never let themselves get tied down with lengthy engagements, and seldom set up dificult-to-resupply and sustain outposts. On the otherhand, they never let any action by the hilltribes go unpunished. Well into the 1930’s, the Brits were launching punitive missions of up to a brigade into the hills to punish one tribe or another that had broken a truce. And aerial bombing really seemed to impress the tribes.
Looking back across the decades, it truly is hard for me to determine just when ROK society lost its capacity to look after its own citizens.
Whether the Taliban releases the hostages or kills them, whether money is paid or not, the ROKs should be planning to go over and kick some ass for a couple of months at least.
The guy I’d put in charge is BG Lee Jeongha, who I understand is over with the Zaytun unit now; he is a real old-school character.
Fact is, if the ROK fails to extend its power to lay an ass-whipping on some Pathans, we can see that the ROK is indeed a 2nd-class power.
6:45 am on July 31st, 2007 19
It started with the sunshine policy. If the ROK government could care less about the thousands of kidnapped Korean citizens in North Korea why would they care much about some people kidnapped by the Taliban?
7:05 am on July 31st, 2007 20
Another thing to think about — we are living in a global age in which information is broadcast instantly - literally.
Do you think shady groups around the world are taking note of things like this?
Koreans have been kidnapped around the world over the past year.
I doubt that was anything but a coincidence, though I’d really like to go back and see….
But, with each new kidnapping, and high attention given inside Korean society, and each new payoff……it must start grabbing the attention to thugs and whatnot…