Ruminations in Korea

Thanks to Kimchi GI for the initial heads up.

Rumors are circulating that two Koreans have been kidnapped in Iraq.

According to Yonhap, Rumors of abduction reportedly arose after an insurgent group in Iraq claimed on its Web site that it was holding two South Koreans captive.

Although not specifically threatening to kill the supposed hostages, the insurgents claiming to have taken the hostages have said that "there will be "Allah’s judgement" for the hostages unless Seoul withdraws its troops from the Gulf state." The threat was posted on an Arabic Web site on Thursday and the group, identified as "Al-Jihad," gave South Korea 72 hours to comply with its demand, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lee Kyu-hyung said.

Lee also said the group claimed it would issue photos of the hostages "in several hours".

Lee said officials in Iraq have determined that nothing untoward has happened to any South Koreans known to be in Iraq, but they were trying to see if there are any citizens who have entered Iraq without notifying the government.

"I cannot say for sure how reliable this threat really is," Lee said.

I think the important words in Lee’s statements are "known to be in Iraq." That leaves a whole bunch of Koreans that are there for missionary activities and other "unofficial" activities that have not reported their presence to the Korean government.

More as the situation develops: