Two female Korean hostages freed

Two female South Korean hostages were set free Monday by a group of Taliban militants who kidnapped them and 21 others more than three weeks ago in Afghanistan, an Afghan official told CNN.

The governor of Ghazni province, Mirajudin Patan, said the two female hostages, who have been reported to be seriously ill, were freed Monday, 25 days after they were first taken by militants.

Patan said the pair were now in the political offices in the Ghazni province's capital, also called Ghazni.

They have been identified as Kim Kyung Ja and Kim Jina.

Witnesses who saw the pair arrive in the village of Arzoo, near the city of Ghazni, in a saloon car driven by two tribal elders told Reuters they appeared to be well.