Afghan officials searched Saturday for a neutral meeting place to resume talks regarding the fate of 21 South Korean hostages held by the Taliban.
Officials in Ghazni province are looking for a site that would provide some semblance of safety for both South Korean negotiators and Taliban members.
Security has been tightened in the province, which is located southwest of Kabul, after the church members were snatched off of a bus more than two weeks ago.
On Friday, Taliban leaders offered direct talks with a South Korean delegation that landed in Afghanistan.
The hostage crisis is expected to be on the agenda when Afghan President Hamid Karzai meets with U.S. President George Bush on Sunday.
As well, a delegation of South Korean lawmakers is headed to Washington to urge the U.S. to help end the 15-day crisis.
The South Korean government reiterated to the militants that it doesn't possess the authority to release Taliban prisoners in exchange for the hostages.
"The (South Korean) government is well aware of how the international community deals with these kinds of abduction cases," said an official statement.
"But it also believes that it would be worthwhile to use flexibility in the cause of saving the precious lives of those still in captivity and is appealing (to) the international community to do so."
A purported Taliban spokesman says the remaining 21 hostages are still alive, but that two of the women are very sick.
The funeral for 29-year-old Shim Sung-min, the second hostage to be killed, was held Friday in Seoul.
He was found Tuesday on a road in the village of Arizo Kalley about seven kilometres west of Ghazni city.
During the memorial service, family and friends pleaded for the release of the other hostages without harm.
The first of the original 23 hostages to be killed was pastor Bae Hyung-kyu, though the circumstances surrounding his death are still unclear.
Afghan clerics and political leaders have called the hostage-taking of women un-Islamic, saying it contradicts Afghanistan's culture of hospitality and will reflect badly on the country.
With files from the Associated Press
