Two recently released Taliban hostages who returned home last week say that a fellow detainee volunteered to stay and let them go instead.

The two female ex-hostages, Kim Ji-na and Kim Kyung-ja, appeared on a news program Friday for Arab TV broadcaster Al Jazeera, dressed in hospital gowns. The two are staying at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital south of Seoul.

They said that fellow hostage Lee Ji-young volunteered to stay behind, saying she has more experience in Afghanistan and can speak the local language.

The two Kims also said they cannot sleep when thinking of the remaining 19 hostages.

The Arab broadcast was their first media exposure due to strict government control since their arrival.

A letter Lee Ji-young wrote to her mother in Seoul was also revealed. In the short three-sentence memo written on a white piece of paper, Lee told her mom not to worry and that she is well.

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