! ^9 D; x* [3 N6 R+ R ' r: L# q4 t4 WThe 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.. i7 I( N) l8 L8 w
2 }, ]- @5 D, A& H" V% I6 HRhyu 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. 7 L; Q( I1 \$ g! U5 a+ P0 F$ v, _+ _4 P2 L4 E* f2 A6 C$ l9 T
"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. $ x- ~' |& }* D1 m$ Y2 W' k2 C0 `9 I7 F# m/ C. B; C7 N
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.- ]& a, F: }( W4 j- A; G$ \
6 b; L% z) T8 K" B0 K5 RThe Taliban are demanding the release of jailed insurgents in exchange for the Koreans and have already killed two male captives. * J- A6 C% w4 U4 \& s# B5 B1 P1 w9 |
"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". 1 c! X* n1 u, |% \- q* v" E' [+ q
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.* Y& X' |1 p6 ~4 `1 C: m
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"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.$ v+ z. g" ~) i/ b; [
0 e* Z; r! B- pA 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. : ]* j; }2 z% A/ t2 B" J& r0 Q/ f/ W; J: R) e1 \! D
- AFP
