Seoul seeking to identify bodies found in Yemen: official

SEOUL, June 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's foreign ministry said Monday it is still
in the process of confirming the safety of a South Korean woman who was allegedly
kidnapped with eight others from Germany and Britain in Yemen last week, amid
conflicting wire reports about the deaths of most of the hostages.
The 34-year-old woman, identified only by her surname of Eom, and the eight
Europeans were kidnapped by a group of insurgents last Friday when they went out
for a picnic in the province of Saada, about 200 km north of the Yemeni capital,
Sanna. The nine belong to an international relief group that has been working at
a hospital in Saada.
The AFP said seven of the nine foreign hostages were found murdered in northern
Yemen on Monday, while the AP quoted a Yemeni security official as saying three
German women hostages were found dead.
"The government has received a report saying three unidentified bodies have been
found by shepherds in Yemen and were sent to a hospital," said an official at
Seoul's foreign ministry.
"It has yet to be confirmed whether the bodies are those of some of the people
who went missing June 12. We're now in real-time contact with our mission in
Yemen to check the situation. We have also been told that the bodies are decayed
beyond recognition," said the official, asking to remain anonymous.
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)