The head of Gana General Trading Co. says one of his employees kidnapped by armed insurgents in Iraq appears to be safe for now.

In a telephone interview with Yonhap news agency in Seoul, Kim Cheon-ho, the company's president, quoted Iraqi captors as saying the South Korean hostage, Kim Sun-il, is safe and well.

Speaking in the Iraqi city of Mosul, he said the South Korean detainee was among ten foreigners being held hostage in the region of Fallujah. In addition to the South Korean worker, the hostages reportedly include one European journalist and an employee of KBR, an engineering, construction and service arm of the U.S. firm, Halliburton.

The company chief said three trucks and trailers belonging to KBR and one vehicle of his company had also been taken during the abduction.

He also said a local Iraqi employee of his company had been sent to the Fallujah area to negotiate with the kidnappers for the release of the Korean hostage.