The international community is showing great interest in the inter-Korean summit between President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

The U.S. government on Tuesday reaffirmed its support of the summit, underscoring that it has always supported dialogue between the two Koreas.

Washington also said it was confident that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula would be on the summit agenda.

Japan expressed its support of the summit as well, while expressing hope that Mr. Roh will raise the Japanese abductee issue during his talks with the North Korean leader.

China has not issued a formal response yet, but its state-run Xinhua news agency and public broadcaster CCTV showed keen interest in the meeting of Mr. Roh and Kim, carrying various reports on the event.

Foreign media including The Associated Press, AFP, and Reuters as well as major Arab media outlets such as Al Jazeera and Al-Arabia also carried a live feed of Roh’s Pyongyang visit.