ARZOO, Afghanistan (Reuters):

Two South Korean women held hostage by the Taliban for more than three weeks in Afghanistan were freed yesterday and handed over to Korean officials in relatively good health.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the pair were driven to the city of Ghazni and handed over to South Korean diplomats there. South Korea's Foreign Ministry confirmed two women had been freed.

"Two of the hostages have been freed and handed over to us safely," said a ministry spokesman in a televised briefing.

The pair are the first hostages to be released since Taliban kidnappers seized the group of 23 Korean church volunteers from a bus in Ghazni province on the main road south of the capital Kabul last month.

The Taliban have killed two male hostages and threatened to kill the rest unless a similar number of Taliban prisoners are freed in exchange.

The two women arrived in the village of Arzoo, near the city of Ghazni, in a saloon car driven by two tribal elders and got into an ICRC vehicle.

"They were able to walk and appeared to be well, but they were very emotional and were crying," a Reuters witness said.

The governor of Ghazni said the two were "sick, but not bad".

A representative of the hostages' families, Cha Sung-min, told reporters in Seoul: "I was told by our government that the two are in relatively good condition."

South Korea's Foreign Ministry identified the released hostages as Kim Kyung-ja and Kim Ji-na.

The Taliban are still holding 19 Korean hostages, 16 of them women.

"It is fortunate that even a part of the group of hostages was released ... the government will make its best effort to ensure everyone's safe return," the ministry spokesman said.