Afghanistan ? The Afghan army dropped leaflets Wednesday warning of impending military action in the region where Taliban militants are holding 21 South Korean hostages, though the army said the operation is not connected to the captives.

Another deadline passed at noon with no word that any of the hostages had been killed, while the local governor said the Taliban militants had agreed to a face-to-face meeting requested by South Korea’s ambassador. Two hostages already have been killed, though several deadlines have passed with no killings.

In Ghazni province, where 23 South Koreans were kidnapped on July 19 while driving from Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar, Afghan soldiers in helicopters dropped leaflets telling residents to move to government-controlled areas in order to avoid upcoming military action.