In pictures: South Korean hostages

It was the news that all South Koreans had dreaded. A second hostage in Afghanistan has been killed by the Taleban.

Shim Sung-min was a 29-year-old former information technology worker who had been on an aid mission with his church.

His devastated family described him as a warm-hearted and chivalrous person, whose principle in life was "to help needy neighbours and the weak".

Shim Sung-min is the second member of the 23-member group to be killed since the team was seized while travelling on a bus in Afghanistan's Ghazni province on 19 July.

The body of the leader of the group, Pastor Bae Hyung-kyu, arrived in Seoul on Monday, five days after he was killed.

The group - 18 of whom are women - had been volunteering on a project organised by the Saemmul Community Church, south of Seoul.

Relatives have been gathering together to support each other through the agonising wait for news.

The killings have sent shock waves through South Korea. Both the government and relatives have urged the international community to help bring a peaceful resolution to the crisis.

Peace protesters have been calling on Seoul to bring forward its plans to withdraw the 200 South Korean troops currently in Afghanistan by the end of the year.

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