Taliban representatives Mullah Bashir (L) and Mullah Nasrullah (2L) walk with officials as they leave the Afghan Red Crescent Society, Aug. 11, 2007 (AFP Photo)

His story went on to say, “Taliban leaders say the two women were both sick and have been freed as a gesture of good will. But there is still no independent verification of the Taliban's claims. Government officials say they have not seen the two women yet but hope they have been released.

“The apparent breakthrough comes as Taliban and South Korean officials complete their second day of face-to-face talks in the Afghan city of Ghazni.

“Taliban insurgents kidnapped 23 South Koreans on July 19 as the group of Christian volunteers drove through the war torn province.

“Two of the South Koreans have already been executed, and insurgents have said they will kill more unless the government frees a number of pro-Taliban prisoners.”

So far the government has refused to consider an exchange.

Afghan Interior Ministry Spokesman Zemarai Bashary says the government is providing security for the talks in Ghazni, but is not directly involved.

"I cannot go into too many details about the issue [but] this much I can say: Afghan representatives were not in that meeting," he said.

The VOA story went on to state that Provincial governor Merajuddin Pattan says the government did offer Taliban leaders safe passage to attend the negotiations and remains committed to supporting the South Korean initiative.

"We told them that we would guarantee the negotiation process and that there would be no operation against them until this dilemma is solved," he said.

Four South Korean delegates and two Taliban leaders are involved in the talks, which started Friday evening in a heavily guarded Afghan Red Crescent office.

The VOA story concluded, “The insurgents have said all along that they would kill the hostages, most of whom are women, unless the government frees a number of pro-Taliban prisoners.

“The Afghan government has said from the start it would not exchange prisoners for hostages, and it is not clear if the South Korean negotiators can promise the release of any Taliban.

“However, Afghan authorities in touch with the Taliban say the militants are also seeking a ransom payment.

“In an incident earlier this year, Afghanistan released five top Taliban prisoners in exchange for an Italian journalist being held hostage.

"There was widespread criticism of that agreement, by U.S. officials among others, who argued that it would only provoke more kidnappings in the future.

"South Korea, however, has pleaded for greater flexibility, and has sought U.S. support for the effort to free the 21 remaining hostages."

Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. Wooding is the author of some 42 books, the latest of which is his autobiography, "From Tabloid to Truth", which is published by Theatron Books. To order a copy, go to www.fromtabloidtotruth.com. danjuma1@aol.com.