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The husband of one of 21 South Korean hostages held by the Taliban has posted a tearful YouTube video to his "dearest wife", saying he hates himself for sleeping while she suffers in Afghanistan., h0 {4 E& e6 S
1 q2 O/ R6 C) qRhyu Haeng-Shik, 36, appealed tearfully for his wife's release in the first of a series of home videos made by relatives of the hostages.- I* ]9 y3 O7 F4 c% n
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"You must be very sick and in hard conditions, and I disgust and hate myself for eating and sleeping," he said, according to the caption in English., d; @; ^# X( K- }% @, \7 Y; `1 p0 U
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His wife Kim Yoon-young, 35, and 22 other Korean aid workers were seized on July 19 while travelling by bus in insurgency-plagued southern Afghanistan. 1 `" W- f, D; {: J$ G+ L* M( C / a, K3 A" `" J6 `The Taliban are demanding the release of jailed insurgents in exchange for the Koreans and have already killed two male captives.6 C; w; s! k S5 }9 V8 { x( L" ~
" l0 |) \$ ^0 w6 M# W8 S* I" O3 m6 V"I earnestly hope you can get over this difficult time with healthy and positive thoughts [of meeting again] while keeping your dear children in mind," Mr Rhyu said in the two-and-a-half minute video entitled "To my dearest wife in Afghanistan". 8 n9 u3 S, T. t Y8 g# |1 B; R" n- ?$ X. `
Families of the hostages plan to post the videos on major internet sites at home and abroad in an appeal to the Taliban and the world.- J& I+ y/ ^# p+ |5 J/ M
) f* b. b2 Z- o"We have announced appeals several times but they were not enough to convey our anxiety," Cha Sung-Min, a representative of the families, told the Korea Times. , J* E0 M" p- `2 W: ~ 6 s1 I0 ^. \# h+ l! F9 {& yA former program director from a TV company is helping with production of the clips, which will have subtitles in Korean, English and an Afghan language. " a( ? n o) t- a* x# P ! A* J! @4 K5 A- AFP
