ABUJA, Nigeria, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Nine pipeline workers from Korea who were abducted in Nigeria were released Saturday and were to be handed over to their employer.
The nine employees were working for Daewoo, a construction firm, when they were abducted Wednesday. After a negotiation team working for the company reached a deal with the kidnappers, the workers were moved to a safe location in a helicopter, the Korea Times reported Saturday.
An official for the company told the newspaper that the workers were kidnapped by a small group of militants and later transferred to the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. MEND was responsible for the kidnapping of five Koreans in June 2006.
"All of the workers are in good condition," Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ho-young told the Times. He added that the government was not aware of the terms of any deal reached between the company and the kidnappers, and that the hostages appear to have been released unconditionally.
