International news media expect the historic inter-Korean summit to contribute to peace and prosperity between the two Koreas, which have remained technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War.
Germany's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung said in an Oct. 2 editorial that the summit was reasonable and logical because it would assist efforts to end the war between the two Koreas by building mutual trust.
France's influential news daily Le Figaro said in a commentary titled ``Hopeful Summit in Korea'' that the summit shows that history is moving forward on the right path even though actual Korean reunification seems distant.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun said in an editorial that seven years after the excitement of the first summit, the context for the summit this time was marked by a mixture of hope and uncertainty. The Japanese daily asked South Korea to use the summit to emphasize a strategic vision for Northeast Asia that is shared by its partners in the six-party talks. To realize this vision, the paper said Seoul needs to press Pyongyang to commit to specific actions to eliminate its nuclear weapons program.
The Los Angeles Times said that President Roh, riding dreams of Korean reunification, journeyed to the North Korean capital to open a three-day summit that drew the North's reclusive leader, Kim Jong Il, into a rare appearance before a global audience.
The Times said it expected President Roh to offer a package of incentives that could boost the North's economy, and make reunification eventually possible between the suffering Stalinist nation and its far wealthier neighbor with such enticements as an offer to create a new economic zone in a deep-water port in North Korea.
USA Today explained that the summit stirred hopes that the North and South will reconcile and eventually reunify after being split into opposing armed camps in the aftermath of World War II. It also quoted Roh as saying, ``After my return from the North, many more people will be able to travel back and forth between the two Koreas. ...The forbidden line will then gradually fade out. The barrier between the South and North will eventually crumble."
U.S. financial news service Bloomberg quoted C. Kenneth Quinones, professor of Korean studies at Akita International University in Japan as saying, ``The two Koreas intend to demonstrate that they have seized the initiative regarding future reconciliation on the peninsula _ a message aimed primarily at the United States, Japan, China and Russia.''
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino was quoted by Reuters as saying, ``Hopefully (the summit) can contribute to peace and security. Ultimately it needs to lead to denuclearization on the Korean peninsula.''