Taliban representatives and diplomats from Seoul resumed negotiations on Thursday in order to decide the future of nineteen South Koreans abducted last month in the Ghazni province.

According to one of the Taliban mediators, the talks resumed “this morning at the office of the Red Crescent in Ghazni,” after two days of incertitude. A first round of discussions ended in a promising way, two ill women being released on Monday by the militants.

The Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammad Yousif Ahmadi said two meetings took place on Thursday, both focused on the militants’ demands.

“Our focal point is still the release of Taliban who are in Afghan government jails. We hope this time it yields a good result, which will be good for the hostages and as well as for our jailed friends,” Ahmadi reportedly said.

During the past days, discussions continued through the telephone and both sides pushed forward for the accomplishment of their objectives.

The Taliban demand the release of several other militants from Afghan prisons in exchange for the remaining South Korean nationals and outlined that no other compromise will be made until their conditions are satisfied.

Two women part of the initial 23-member group of South Korean Christian aid workers were released after their health condition deteriorated seriously during captivity and the Taliban couldn’t provide proper medical assistance for them.

On Monday, 32-year-old Kim Ji Na and 37-year-old Kim Kyung Ja were handed over to Red Cross workers in the same province they were kidnapped on July 19.

After through medical examinations and a brief inquiry, the women are expected to be flown back to their homeland. Since their release, both South Koreans were taken to a military base located 60 kilometers northwest of Kabul.

Another demand of the militants is the withdrawal of all South Korean troops deployed in Afghanistan, but since the abduction occurred no Afghan official was willing to negotiate with the kidnapers.

Kabul officials kept following their policy of not negotiating with insurgents and said by meeting their requests a dangerous precedent will be created and other abductions would certainly follow. A military operation wasn’t ruled out if the crisis doesn’t end in a peaceful manner.