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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.3 L) T! r- a% T; j
" k2 j' q# l( X1 N0 VRhyu 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. ( f) U+ L$ L; H! a/ y 8 t3 o! Z5 S3 t7 F2 s: y1 h* c L"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. $ i+ F a. f0 G/ w4 T* {6 p7 x5 A; ^2 j: j- F8 \8 a- 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.& l% o- {/ ?! S6 j; Q ^3 {7 ~$ f+ _
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The Taliban are demanding the release of jailed insurgents in exchange for the Koreans and have already killed two male captives.; @- v0 I; `4 `; M- V
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"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". 4 Q6 i% Z; [8 k! C6 M; e* o# q9 l6 T 6 G' [4 D7 c @& w) {. i: q* w% oFamilies 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. z7 X t9 g; ^
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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.' k+ w9 N4 s' D( A& P. ?
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A 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. ! H p0 a+ F- q! y" U# s : I/ d0 ?5 d: {" ^2 G( E- AFP
