The remaining 22 South Koreans kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan are alive, the Afghan deputy interior minister said on Friday, hours after the passing of the latest deadline set by the group.

“They are alive and fine,” Munir Mangal, who also heads an Afghan team trying to secure the freedom of the Christian hostages, told reporters in Ghazni.

He said an Afghan delegation was holding talks with the Taliban and had appealed to the group to not issue further deadlines as the government was keen to resolve the crisis “peacefully”.

The Taliban could not be reached for comment about the fate of the captives and about the reported talks and extension of the ultimatum. Accusing the government of “killing time and playing tricks”, a Taliban spokesman had said earlier they would kill the captives if rebel prisoners were not released by the Afghan government by Friday noon.

The Taliban killed the leader of the 23 volunteers they snatched from a bus on the main highway in Ghazni last week. Several previous deadlines have passed without them carrying out their threats.

The Taliban spokesman said Afghan authorities had asked for more time after the insurgents presented the government with a list of eight prisoners it wanted released.

South Korean chief presidential national security adviser, Baek Jong-chun, is expected to arrive in Afghanistan to step up efforts to free the hostages.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has pledged not to swap prisoners for hostages after being criticised for releasing five Taliban in March in exchange for an Italian reporter.