Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- A foreign ministry envoy expressed guarded optimism about the release of a South Korean man kidnapped by an armed group in Libya, saying kidnappers did not identify themselves, acting differently from extremist groups such as IS and Al Qaeda.

The Libyan government apparently knows about the movement of abductees by acquiring related information through its own channels, Baik Joo-hyeon told reporters Thursday after a trip to Tripoli. He served as director-general of the consular affairs bureau in the early 2010s and handled two kidnapping cases near Somalia.

"This is different from other cases," the envoy said, adding Libyan authorities showed a cautious approach because kidnappers did not identify themselves, acting quite differently from extremist groups such as IS and Al Qaeda.

An armed militia abducted the South Korean man and three Filipino workers at a water plant in Jabal Hasouna in Libya on July 6. For a possible rescue operation, South Korea's anti-piracy military unit stationed in the Gulf of Aden has been dispatched to the coast of Libya.

"Libya and we believe they are not a terrorist group with a certain political purpose," Baik said. "There were no specific demands from kidnappers. I've heard that the Libyan government is doing its best and thinks that it will be solved soon."

A video showing the four calling for help was published on August 1 on the Facebook account of 218 News, a Libyan media company. "Please help me, president... our country South Korea," a middle-aged Korean man with an overgrown beard spoke in broken English to a camera, sitting in a desert with three other victims. Behind them, a hooded man sat with a Russian RPK machine gun.

No group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of the four who reportedly had been working as technicians at a water plant for the Great Man-made River Project which runs a waterway across the Libyan desert.