Two South Korean hostages kidnapped in southern Afghanistan have been released unharmed, leaving 19 members of their evangelical Christian group still in the hands of Taleban rebels.

The women, named as Kim Kyung Ja, 37, and Kim Ji Na, 32, were freed after South Korean officials met Taleban insurgents over the weekend. Their captors had already killed two of the hostages, including the pastor of the group’s church, Bae Hyung Kyu.

The release followed days of missed deadlines promised by the Taleban. A Taleban spokesman said the release was a sign of goodwill, while the Governor of Ghazni province – where the group is being held – insisted that no Taleban prisoners had been released in exchange. Earlier he suggested that a ransom may have been paid to secure their freedom.

Qari Yousef Ahmadi, who claims to speak for the outlawed insurgent group, said that the two were freed “for the sake of good relations between the Korean people and the Taleban”. He added: “We are expecting the Korean people and Government to force Kabul and the US to take a step to releasing Taleban prisoners.”

Afghan and South Korean officials have been working to secure the release of the hostages since they were captured en route from Kabul to Ghazni on July 19.

The group were officially in Afghanistan to carry out aid work; however there have been suspicions that it had travelled to the deeply Muslim country as Christian missionaries.

The Afghan Government has repeatedly denied that it will accede to Taleban demands to exchange prisoners in their custody for the hostages.

“Our position is the same, we are not releasing [any Taleban prisoners],” Ustad Merajuddin Pathan, the Governor of Ghazni province, said. In March President Karzai of Afghanistan drew widespread condemnation when he released five Taleban commanders in exchange for Daniele Mastrogiacomo, an Italian journalist, held hostage by the rebel group in Helmand province.

Mr Karzai later promised never to repeat the swap, which was much criticised by Britain and America.

Fears that such deals might bolster the insurgency were later borne out. A released Taleban commander, Ustad Muhammad Yassar, returned to the Chak district of Wardak – then a relatively peaceful area 40 miles from Kabul – and helped to turn it into a mini Taleban state.

The women’s three-week ordeal came to an end yesterday at 4pm when they were handed to a village elder ten miles outside of the small city of Ghazni, 90 miles south of the capital, Kabul.

In tears the women were then passed to representatives from the International Red Cross to be passed later into the care of South Korean officials. They are said to be staying in the American military base in Ghazni, where they will be debriefed by Afghan, American and South Korean officials.

“We will be talking to them shortly to find as much information as we can,” Mr Pathan said.

The South Korean Government welcomed the news but urged the Taleban to release the remaining captives. “We urge the kidnappers to release our people,” Cho Hee Young, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said.

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