Nine South Korean construction workers returned home Tuesday after their kidnapping last week by Nigerian militants.

The South Koreans, who had been held hostage three days in Nigeria, arrived at Incheon International Airport afternoon on a flight from Frankfurt, Germany.

The workers employed by South Korea's Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co. were kidnapped along with one Nigerian worker last Wednesday when a group of some 50 unidentified militants attacked their construction site in the oil-rich state of Bayelsa in southern Nigeria. They were released safely on last Saturday.

Families of the workers and officials from Daewoo and the Foreign Ministry, including Vice Foreign Minister Kim Ho-young, greeted them at the airport.

The South Korean government denied any negotiations for the release of the workers as the government has a policy of no negotiation with terrorists or kidnappers.

(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2007)