Face-to-face talks between the Taliban and South Korean officials on 19 South Korean hostages have failed and Taliban fighters holding them are waiting for a decision from the Taliban leadership, a purported Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi said Saturday.

The talks, which started on Thursday, had stopped later on the same day without making any progress, Ahmadi told Xinhua from an undisclosed place. He added that two Taliban delegates engaged in the negotiations had gone back to their homes.

The Afghan and South Korean governments had failed to meet the Taliban's major demand, which was the releasing of eight Taliban prisoners, the Taliban spokesman said.

Taliban fighters holding the hostages were waiting for a decision on the hostages' fate from the Taliban leadership, he added.

A total of 23 South Koreans were kidnapped by Taliban militants on a road in the central Ghazni province on July 19.

Taliban rebels shot dead two male hostages on July 25 and July 30 separately to press Afghan and South Korean authorities to meet their demands.

Two female hostages were released on Aug. 13 as the Taliban claimed it wanted to show "a good gesture" toward South Korean authorities.

The Afghan government has refused to release Taliban prisoners, as the Taliban has demanded to exchange for the remaining 19 hostages.

Taliban militants have carried out kidnappings in Afghanistan over the past two years frequently, and some hostages were killed.
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(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2007)