Politicians Seek Help from U.S. over Hostage Crisis

The floor leaders of five major Korean political parties, including the Grand National Party and the Uri Party, adopted a joint statement on Wednesday calling on the Afghan and the U.S. governments to change their stances on the Korean hostage crisis in Afghanistan.

The five party leaders, who will visit the U.S. on Thursday to seek cooperation from the U.S., also sent a letter to Ban Ki-moon, secretary-general of the United Nations, urging him to take an active role in resolving the standoff.

“After arriving in the U.S., we will try to have meetings with House Leader Nancy Pelosi and U.N Secretary General Ban Ki-moon,” said Jeong Jin-seok, the floor leader of the People’s First Party.

The joint statement adopted by the floor leaders in a meeting at the National Assembly Wednesday morning reads, “If the Afghan government continues to stick to its hard-line stance and just reiterate its principles, it could bring about yet another sacrifice. We also politely urge the U.S. government to take a proactive role and stance to prevent further loss of life.”

“We do not have the means to respond to the demands of Taliban, which is demanding that we swap the hostages with the Taliban prisoners. U.N. Secretary General Ban must take an action to resolve this tragic and regretful hostage situation,” the floor leaders said in the letter to Mr. Ban.

yongari@donga.com