SKorea, US rule out military operation to rescue Korean hostages in Afghanistan

MANILA (AP) - South Korea and the United States have ruled out the possibility of military operations to secure the release of South Koreans held in Afghanistan, a South Korean official said Thursday.

South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte discussed the hostages during a meeting in Manila on Thursday on the sidelines of an Asian security conference, the South Korean Foreign Ministry official said.

"The two sides ruled out the possibility of military operations and placed a top priority on safely resolving the issue by mobilizing all means," Song said after the meeting, the official said. He asked not to be named, citing the sensitivity of the issue.

"The United States is not preparing military operations," he quoted Song as saying.

The Taliban kidnapped 23 South Koreans from a bus in southern Afghanistan on July 19 and has shot two of them to death. It is threatening more killings unless the Afghan government releases insurgent prisoners.