June 22 (Bloomberg) -- Islamic militants, who are demanding the pullout of South Korean troops in Iraq, today extended a deadline for beheading a South Korean translator the group is holding hostage, Yonhap News said, citing Arab television channel Al-Jazeera.

The captors, who identified themselves as members of the Jama'at al-Tawhid and Jihad groups, initially set a Monday night deadline for a response from South Korea to pull out its troops. South Korea has more than 600 non-combat personnel in Iraq and is planning to send an additional 3,000 troops to help with reconstruction.

An unidentified negotiator told Al-Jazeera that the kidnappers have delayed the beheading of Kim Son Il, a 33-year- old translator working for a trading company, Yonhap said.

An Iraqi partner of a South Korean security company has been negotiating for the hostage's release, Yonhap said. The South Korean foreign ministry has sent a six-member team, led by Ambassador Jang Jae Ryong, to help in the negotiation.

(Yonhap News, 6-22)

To contact the reporter on this story: Heejin Koo in Seoul at hjkoo@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 22, 2004 09:07 EDT