No talks planned after release of hostages in Afghanistan

Taliban leaders and South Korean officials were continuing negotiations by telephone over the fate of the remaining 19 hostages today, but no new face-to-face talks had been planned, the International Committee of the Red Cross said.

Two Korean women kidnapped by the Taliban in mid-July were freed yesterday on a desert road outside Ghazni into Red Cross custody, the first significant breakthrough in the hostage drama. Two male Korean captives were executed by gunfire late last month.