South Korea, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines were among the first countries Saturday to hail the birth of a princess to the Crown Prince and Princess.

South Korean President Kim Dae Jung sent a message of congratulations to the Emperor on the Crown Princess' delivery of a baby girl, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"The people of (South) Korea and I send our warmest congratulations on the birth of an Imperial grandchild, which the Imperial family and the entire Japanese people have been looking forward to," Kim was quoted as saying in the message.

An official at the Thai Foreign Ministry said, "Congratulations, that's only word I can find," upon hearing the news.

The royal families of Thailand and Japan have traditionally held close ties. The Crown Princess, who was a diplomat before marrying the Crown Prince in 1993, has drawn strong interest among Thai people.

Local TV shows carried special programs Wednesday night as the birth of her first baby approached.

Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Crown Prince Al Muhtadee Billah sent separate messages through the Brunei Embassy in Tokyo just minutes after news of the birth broke.

The sultan's message to the Emperor and Empress expressed "most sincere respects and warmest congratulations" on the birth of their granddaughter, while Crown Prince Al Muhtadee Billah expressed his "warmest congratulations" to the Crown Prince and Princess, a Brunei Foreign Ministry source said.

A spokesman for Philippine President Gloria MacapagalArroyo said her country is "very happy" to hear the news of the royal birth.

"We congratulate the Crown Princess for having a child and we wish her all the luck," spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao told Kyodo News by telephone.

Malaysia also congratulated the royal couple over the birth of their new baby princess, Deputy Information Minister Khalid Yunus said. "We wish them prosperity and good health," he told AFP.

Khalid congratulated the Crown Princess on giving birth after eight years of childless marriage to the Crown Prince, saying that "many other couples have also waited for a long time to have a child."

An official at the Japanese U.N. mission in New York, where the Crown Princess' father Hisashi Owada served as Japan's ambassador to the United Nations for more than four and years, said, "The birth (of a child) to the Crown Princess is a very happy event for Japanese people."

Other Japanese at the mission welcomed the birth as "happy news amid the increasing joblessness and (following) the terrorist attacks in the United States."