These North Korean defectors watched the U.S. election results in Seoul and were very disappointed, says CNN’s Seoul Correspondent Paula Hancocks: “They believed a Republican would have a more hard line approach to the North Korean regime but most hoped Obama could do better this time around. They weren’t too pessimistic for an Obama 2nd term but had plenty of advice for him.”

Do Myung-hak, Sec-Gen, NK Intellectuals Solidarity: “President Obama trying to engage one-on-one with the North Korean regime won’t work, that will just raise Kim Jong Un’s stature and will have a negative effect… Mr. Obama should come up with policies in conjunction with South Korea and not individually engage North Korea.”

Credit: KJ Kwon/CNN

More from the North Korean defectors who discussed their disappointment with Obama’s win over lunch with CNN in Seoul.

Kang Chol Hwan, Former labor camp prisoner & author “The Aquariums of Pyongyang”: I hope President Obama will act strongly on behalf of the enslaved North Korean people, but for the last four years he didn’t seem to have that kind of philosophy… North Korea has enslaved its citizens and the US has to try and change that but they have mostly ignored this and left it up to South Korea to deal with. Nothing has improved for the North Korean people.” Credit: KJ Kwon/CNN

Congratulatory messages are still coming from world leaders. Here’s except from a message to Obama from India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh:

"It gives me great pleasure to convey to you my warmest congratulations on your re-election as the president of the United States. The renewed confidence that the people of your great country have reposed in you is as much a tribute to your qualities of head and heart as it is an indication of the faith that the American people have in your leadership. Your mandate gives you a historic opportunity to continue to work for the welfare of the American people as also for global peace and progress at an admittedly difficult juncture, not just for the U.S., but indeed for the world at large.”

“I have no doubt that there is much more we can do together to further strengthen the India-U.S. partnership and thereby advance peace and stability, expand mutual economic opportunities, harness the potential of science and technology, innovation and higher education and empower our people to address global challenges.”

Credit: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

An Afghan journalist poses with a cardboard cut-out of the newly re-elected President Barack Obama during an election event at the U.S. embassy in Kabul.

Credit: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

The status quo doesn’t sit well with the Syrian opposition, according to CNN’s Arwa Damon in Beirut:

“The Syrian opposition wants to see America taking a more active role (in Syria), no longer standing on the sidelines. But really there are very few that actually believe the U.S. is going to change its policy. … A lot of opposition members have been expressing their deep frustration with America’s ongoing lack of concrete action … saying they feel as if the U.S. has somehow betrayed and abandoned them, especially when we consider the White House’s positions when it came to the uprising in Egypt and the very active role that America took in Libya. …

"Many are greatly concerned that if America does in fact continue along its current course, the situation in Syria is only going to drastically escalate.”

After Obama win, hope and relief in China

CNN’s Kristie Lu Stout explains why China is breathing a sigh of relief after Obama’s victory. "China is quite happy that Obama won the election because Obama is a known entity," said political columnist Frank Ching. "It's better to have the devil you know, than the one you don't."

But the state-run People's Daily portends dark days ahead for the U.S. president: "As soon as Obama gets re-elected, he will immediately be confronted with the strangling of Washington's political machine."

Lessons for Canada from a long U.S. election

What does Obama’s re-election mean for America’s neighbor to the north?

In an editorial Wednesday morning, the Montreal Gazette weighed examined Obama’s stance on several issues facing Canada, including free trade and the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. It also said Canadians should feel grateful that they don’t have to deal with the partisan gridlock that Americans do.

“Finally, the seemingly endless U.S. election campaign is over; and the re-election of Barack Obama — a sensible moderate by mainstream Canadian standards — is good news to many, perhaps most, Canadians. We have to hope that the president, and Americans on the whole, make the best of this new mandate.”

For iReporter Rummel Pinera, who has been keeping tabs on the presidential race from his home in the Philippines, Obama's victory was a vindication of his hopes.

"I'm so happy to hear the news,” he said. “Obama is a huge icon for racial equality and social justice.”

Pinera said Obama's victory will work well for Filipinos, many of whom work overseas and send invaluable remittances, or funds, back home to support their families.

"The Obama administration's job-creating programs will certainly benefit Filipino migrant workers who are employed in the U.S., as well as such workers' families here in the Philippines," he said.

What do you think about the U.S. election? How does it affect you? Send us an iReport!

Obama’s re-election relieves Brussels

Jean-Pierre Stroobants, writing for French daily newspaper Le Monde, says European Union officials can breathe a sigh of relief with the election results: “It seemed indeed easier to pursue relations with Obama than to wait for the establishment of a Republican administration whose stance on Iran, the Middle East, relations with Russia, even the consequences of the ‘Arab Spring’ could worry.”

U.S. and China: Worlds apart but much in common

In the space of one week, the world's two great powers decide their immediate futures. But it's not all they have in common, writes CNN’s Stan Grant.

America and China are joined at the wallet. China makes mass cost-effective products, United States consumers buy them. The U.S. is China's single biggest trade partner, China is the biggest holder of American debt.

What will Obama’s victory mean for U.S.-China relations?

From our growing world photo gallery:

Indian artist Sudaran Pattnaik adds final touches to his Obama sand sculpture at Golden Sea Beach in Puri, India.

How did the world respond to President Obama’s re-election? Relive the night (and early morning) all right here, with comments, photos, videos and analysis from CNN correspondents around the globe.

The blog is now closed, but you can still get full election results here. And CNN.com, of course, will be following up with many more stories as we step back and digest this moment in history.

Blog curated by Nick Thompson and Lauren Said-Moorhouse in London, Hilary Whiteman in Hong Kong and Kyle Almond in Atlanta