South Korea: Hostage killed

[sotuchick]

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- Iraqi insurgents have killed the South Korean civilian they were holding hostage, according to South Korean Foreign Ministry officials.

A spokesman said the U.S. military informed the South Korean Embassy in Iraq that they had found a body that appeared to be that of an Asian male, the officials said.

They sent a photograph of the body, and the embassy identified Kim Sun-Il, who was kidnapped on June 17 in Fallujah, west of Baghdad.

The Islamist Web site "Voice of Jihad" also posted a message saying that the insurgents had killed Kim.

Kim, 33, was an Arabic speaker and evangelical Christian who had worked in Iraq for a year as a translator for a South Korean firm supplying goods to the U.S. military.

In a video broadcast Sunday on Al-Jazeera, Kim cried in English, "Please get out of here. I don't want to die ... Your life is important, but my life is important."

The insurgents had demanded that South Korea cancel plans to send 3,000 additional troops to Iraq.

Overnight, hundreds of South Koreans gathered in central Seoul on to condemn the dispatch of South Korean troops to Iraq, but the government is so far not backing away from its decision.

Police said protesters holding candles and placards that read "I don't want to die. South Korean troops must get out" gathered in a downtown street, chanting "We are against the dispatch of troops!"

Earlier, Foreign Ministry spokesman Shin Bong-Kil said that South Korea was trying to establish contact with as many countries and organizations as possible that could help win Kim's release.

He declined to comment on whether South Korea had direct contact with the kidnappers.

South Korean government officials had given numerous interviews to Arab media appealing for Kim's release, Shin said.

South Korea plans to send 3,000 troops to Arbil in the northern Kurdish region of Iraq. Military officials say about half are combat troops trained to protect the rest, who are to help rebuild Iraq, distribute aid and train security forces.

Some 670 South Korean military medics and engineers in southern Iraq since May last year will move to Arbil to join the main force, which Seoul sees as a difficult but vital gesture to the United States, an ally with 37,500 troops in the South to deter North Korea.

The deployment would make South Korea the third-largest contributor to the coalition in Iraq, after the United States and Britain.

[digital7]

and unfortunately the killings will continue

[funketeer]

the pandora box has been opened.

[obby]

It's ok cause it was done in the name of God (Alah).

[jeffy1]

it's just getting started!

[obby]

or I could have written:

"That's nothing. You should have seen the naked prisoners the Americans had stacked up in a pyramid the other day. That Korean got off lucky."

ohh and remember.......

[sotuchick]

The moderators from the Miami board are doing a great job!!!!

[marcodavalos]

Believe it or not Obby ... listening to some experts on the Middle East and Al-Qaeda a few weeks back ... they were stating exactly the opposite ... Al-Qaeda would want 4 more years of Bush.

The explanation needs to put into context what Al-Qaeda uses as the reason for its existance ... the fact that the Arabic peninsula is occupied by foreign forces ...

While we have troops there ... and keep pushing our agenda ... we are at the same time indirectly feeding their own agenda. Their agenda now has increasing facts/evidence to attract the younger ...

Saudi Arabia is quickly becoming a time bomb for the Saudi monarchy and our interests. The millions of young unemployed ... the high number of foreigners ... the closeness of the monarchy to the US ... all this inevitably feeds the Al-Qaeda recruiting technics.

Check this report on Saudi Arabia and the killing of Mr. Johnson last week ... http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/terrorism/jan-june04/hostage_06-18.html

What should we do at this point? ... Tuff to say .. anyways, my point was to bring the perspective described above.

.

[obby]

The moderators from the Miami board are doing a great job!!!!

This coming from the person who originally posted this in the Miami section. Good job keeping them/him on their/his toes.

LOL

Marco, I hear you and read the same but i think you still got my point.

[sobeton]

you weaken the organization from the base. the terrorist and radicals seem to be leading in this respect.IMO we need to be forthright with our allies, be very clear in our objectives, and share the power and information. the Iraqi people are questioning our objectives; we need to bring them into the loop. the Iraqi people are a part of the base, by strengthening them you make the job of the terrorist and the radicals that much more difficult. we may not be able to prevent incidents like this, but perhaps we can help them to become less frequent, and less accepted among the Muslim community. now is not the time for political punts. we started a mission and now we need to finish it the right way.

[mrmatas2277]

you weaken the organization from the base. the terrorist and radicals seem to be leading in this respect.IMO we need to be forthright with our allies, be very clear in our objectives, and share the power and information. the Iraqi people are questioning our objectives; we need to bring them into the loop. the Iraqi people are a part of the base, by strengthening them you make the job of the terrorist and the radicals that much more difficult. we may not be able to prevent incidents like this, but perhaps we can help them to become less frequent, and less accepted among the Muslim community. now is not the time for political punts. we started a mission and now we need to finish it the right way.

AMEN....

[obby]

we may not be able to prevent incidents like this, but perhaps we can help them to become less frequent, and less accepted among the Muslim community. now is not the time for political punts. we started a mission and now we need to finish it the right way.

Clap Clap Clap

Welcome aboard!!!!!!!!!

Better late than never!!!!!!!