WCC, WEA request prayers for Korean Christian Hostages

The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is asking for earnest prayers for the South Korean Christians being held hostage in Afghanistan and also sends its deepest sympathies to the families of two abducted Germans who may have been killed on Saturday.

“This is an unfortunate situation but we take comfort that God is in control so let us continue to lean on Him for this great need. We pray that our Korean brothers, sisters and their families will experience a special nearness of God to them and find comfort in the knowledge of His power in their time of anguish. We also pray for the government officials and kidnappers who are in negotiations, may they agree to a peaceful resolution quickly and allow the hostages to be reunited with their families,” said the WEA International Director Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe.

The Acting General Secretary of the World Council of Churches has written to the head of the National Council of Churches in Korea to express his solidarity following the abduction of 23 South Korean Christians in Afghanistan.

William Temu said in his letter to Rev Oh–sung Kwon that WCC member churches were “praying in earnest” for the hostages, who were taken by the Taliban from the main road south from Kabul last week during a humanitarian visit to Afghanistan.

Mr Temu continued in his letter to the NCCK: “As negotiations between the Taliban and the South Korean government continue, we pray for the immediate release of those being held, for their reunion with their families and for true peace in Afghanistan.

Mr Temu appealed for prayers to ensure the release of the South Korean hostages.

“We are calling the entire ecumenical family to join in prayer, asking God to intercede so that the hostages will be released and brought to safety,” he wrote.

“We stand in solidarity with the families and churches affected, and with all the Korean people as they live through this difficult and trying time.”

Taliban rebels agreed to extend the negotiation deadline for the 22 remaining Korean Christians to noon Friday, said a spokesman for the militants Thursday.

“The deputy interior minister asked us to give them extra time until tomorrow 12:00 p.m. (3:30 a.m. EDT) to be able to handle the issue,” said purported Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi to Agence France–Presse from an unknown location. “The Taliban leading council decided to give them time until tomorrow (Friday) noon.”

Afghan government officials also confirmed the extended deadline, noting that they were “trying with all our ability to win the safe and sound release of the South Koreans,” according to AFP.

The current situation
The extension comes after the “final” deadline on Wednesday evening passed without any further killings.

Yet the day did not escape without tragedy when the leader of the Christian aid group, 42–year–old youth pastor Bae Hyung–kyu, was found dead with 10 bullet holes in his body.

He was the first and thus far only person killed out of the 23 volunteers set to administer medical aid to citizens of the impoverished country. Officials at Bae’s home church, Saemmul Presbyterian Church in Bundang, just south of the South Korean capital Seoul, said that the youth pastor was killed on his birthday.

Bae was also one of the founders of Saemmul Church and is survived by his wife and a young daughter.

His body reportedly arrived at the main U.S. military base in Bagram, near Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, and will be flown back to South Korea on the first flight available, according to Yonhap news agency.

Meanwhile, South Korea has sent a top presidential envoy to Afghanistan on Thursday to help secure the release of the remaining hostages – composed mostly of women.

Baek Jong–chun, South Korea’s chief presidential secretary for security affairs, will consult with top Afghan officials on the release of the Koreans.

"We hope the negotiations between the Afghan government and Taliban go well," said Kim Kyung–ja, mother of hostage Lee Sun–young, according to The Associated Press Thursday. "Please send our lovely children home."

It has been exactly a week since Taliban gunmen hijacked the Korean church group’s bus and took 23 passengers, including 18 females, captive to pressure the Afghan government to release Taliban rebels and South Korea to remove its troops from the country.

The kidnapping of the 23 Korean Christians is the largest abduction of a group of foreigners in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.