Ali Houdou, president of the Socialist Party of Benin, said in his statement on Jan. 3:

The joint New Year editorial published by leading newspapers of the DPRK noted that the sacred cause of the DPRK advanced along the road of victory shown by leader Kim Jong Il even under the unprecedentedly complicated international circumstances last year.

We are convinced that the DPRK will invariably advance along the road of socialism under the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea headed by the dear respected Kim Jong Un, supreme leader, despite any rapidly-changing international situation and any desperate obstructive moves of the imperialists.

The Socialist Party of Benin will as ever fully support the Korean people in their struggle to keep the idea of independence, friendship and peace and defend the cause of socialism.

Hessou Kohovi, chairman of the Benin-Korea Amicable Association "Long Live Kim Jong Il, Supreme Leader" and chairman of the Benin National Committee for the Study of the Juche Idea and of General Kim Jong Il's Works, in a statement on Jan. 2 expressed belief that the Korean people would bring about a decisive turn in the cause of national reunification this year, holding high the slogan "Let all the compatriots open the gates of national reunification full of fresh confidence!".

We will firmly stand on the side of the Korean people who adhere to the stand of giving priority to national independence and putting the nation above anything else, subordinate everything to the common interests of the nation and advance under the unfurled banner of anti-war and peace, the statement said.