THE WORLD - Taliban says 18 South Koreans may be killed

A purported Taliban spokesman said Friday that 18 kidnapped South Korean Christians, including 15 women, would be killed today unless Seoul removed its 200 troops from Afghanistan.

The South Koreans were seized at gunpoint Thursday in Ghazni province’s Qarabagh district as they traveled by bus from Kabul to the city of Kandahar.

“They have got until tomorrow at noon to withdraw their troops from Afghanistan, or otherwise we will kill the 18 Koreans,” Qari Yousef Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the Taliban, said by satellite phone.

South Korea’s troops are serving with the 8,000-strong U.S.-led coalition.

South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said today that his nation planned to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by year’s end, as scheduled.

The hostages were reported to be members of a church in Bundang, just south of Seoul.