Negotiations for 23 Koreans in 'final stage'

Korean negotiators accompanied by Afghan elders and clerics met face-to-face with the kidnappers of 23 South Koreans yesterday as a threatened Taliban deadline to execute them passed by once again.

Purported Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said late yesterday negotiations were in the "final stage," but he provided no other details.

The Korean negotiators met the kidnappers somewhere in Ghazni province, said a provincial official who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the situation. The official said the militants were now demanding monetary payment for the release of the hostages.