KABUL, July 31: Taliban set the government a new deadline of noon (0730 GMT) on Wednesday to meet its demands in order to save 21 South Koreans, a day after a second hostage was killed.

The militia wants the government to free at least eight Taliban prisoners in Afghan jails, a demand government negotiators have rejected.

“If our demands are not met by then, we will start killing the rest of the South Koreans,” Taliban spokesman Yousuf Ahmadi told AFP.

The bloodied corpse of the second hostage to be killed since 23 were kidnapped nearly two weeks ago was found early on Wednesday in Ghazni.

South Korea’s foreign ministry identified the victim as Shim Sung-Min, 29, as the country reacted with outrage.

“The Korean government strongly condemns and urges an immediate end to these heinous acts of killing innocent people in order to press for demands that it can’t meet,” said the presidential office in Seoul.

Government negotiators said meanwhile talks were continuing over the South Koreans but there had been little movement.

“Taliban are not responding very nicely,” Mahmood Gailani told AFP.

Two women among 21 South Koreans held by Taliban for nearly two weeks are so ill they could die, said the militia.

Taliban spokesmen said that 17 of the captives were ill.—AFP