YONHAP NEWS

(LEAD) Three females hostages in Afghanistan released: Foreign Ministry

SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- A group of three South Korean hostages was freed in Afghanistan Wednesday, one day after South Korean officials and Taliban militants agreed on the release of all 19 South Koreans seized last month, the Foreign Ministry said.

   They are the first to be released under Tuesday's agreement, made at a face-to-face meeting between South Korean negotiators and Taliban representatives in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, where the hostages were kidnapped.

   The released are Ahn Hye-jin, 31, Lee Jeung-ran, 33, and 34-year-old Han Ji-young, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Hee-yong.

   "We are informed that there are no specific problems with their health," Cho told a press briefing, adding that the government will continue to work for the safe release of the remaining hostages kidnapped on July 19.

   Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Taliban, earlier told Yonhap News Agency that some other hostages are to be freed before the end of the day.

   The released hostages were first handed over to tribal elders from Afghanistan's Ghazni province, who then dropped the South Koreans off with officials from the Afghan Red Crescent Society.

   bdk@yna.co.kr
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