"Militants in Iraq Kill South Korean Hostage"

BAGHDAD, Iraq – An Iraqi militant group has beheaded its South Korean hostage, Al-Jazeera television reported Tuesday, just hours after a go-between said the execution had been delayed and there were negotiations for the man's release.

The South Korean foreign ministry issued a statement confirming that Kim Sun-il had been killed but did not say he was beheaded.

Kim's body was found by the U.S. military between Baghdad and Fallujah, 22 miles west of the capital, at 5:20 p.m. Iraq time, said South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Shin Bong-kil.
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Reuters timeline:

6:00am they say they will extend deadline

11:54 negototians going well

01:20 they announce they found his body

body found by US military.

You would assume it would take some hours to look for his body. The U.S. seems to be on top of things?

Report: S.Korean's Abductors Drop Iraq Troop Demand
By REUTERS
Published: June 22, 2004
Filed at 11:45 a.m. ET

SEOUL (Reuters) - Muslim militants holding a South Korean businessman have dropped their demand that Seoul pull its troops out of Iraq and not send more, a security company president was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

The JoongAng Ilbo newspaper's Web Site quoted Choi Seung-gap as telling South Korean reporters the abductors of 33-year-old Kim Sun-il had made other demands that were acceptable, but he declined to elaborate for fear of jeopardizing the negotiations.

The militants kidnapped Kim and threatened on Monday to behead him within 24 hours if South Korea did not withdraw the 670 military medics and engineers it has in Iraq and ditch plans to send another 3,000 troops. Seoul rejected the demand.

A mediator told Reuters in Baghdad the militants had agreed to give more time for talks on his fate.
Full Article : nytimes.com

"a dispatch from Baghdad, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted an "informed source" as saying that negotiations with the kidnappers collapsed over the South Korean government's refusal to drop its plan to send troops."

In the earlier 11:54 story it said they had dropped that demand; the negotiator said the talks were going well; that Iraqis respect S. Koreans! "It is highly likely we will see a resolution because in Iraq they have a good impression about South Korea''

Now they report: "As the talks bogged down, the kidnappers apparently resorted to an extreme measure."

Seems like American behaviour to me.