South Korea has granted permission to a religious group to light a 30 foot high Christmas ‘tree’, just miles from the border with the North, despite North Korea warning of a "catastrophic impact" if they do.
The original ‘tree’ was a radio tower, constructed in the 1970s, on the top of Aegbong, a hill near the border between the two nations. It was decorated with lights and used as a Christmas tree since 1971, barring a few years when, for reasons of getting on with their neighbours, it was left unlit.
The lighting of the tree has long been a source of acrimony between the two nations. Seoul says the resurrection of the tree is a message of peace, while the Atheist government in Pyongyang has warned of a “catastrophic impact” should the South choose to erect the festive symbol. In the past North Korea has threatened to hit the tree with an artillery strike.
In August of this year the 43 year old tower was taken down, in the interests of public safety. However, a religious group – the Christian Council of Korea – have now asked to replace it, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“We accepted the request … to guarantee free religious activities,” said South Korean defence ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok.
Just a few miles from the border, its lights are clearly visible from the North Korean town of Kaesong. For Atheist North Korea this has been seen as little more than a provocation over the years, with Pyongyang previously decrying it as psychological warfare.
In 2012, on Christmas Eve, the North Korean Central News Agency reported that the government saw the festive radio tower as “an open challenge and an unpardonable provocation” from their neighbours. The North went on to accuse the South of psychological warfare.
The tradition of a tree-lighting ceremony began in 1971 and continued until 2004, when the two nations agreed to cease propaganda activities, but the Seoul government started the activity again in 2010 following the sinking of a South Korean warship. The tower has long been a rough barometer of current tension levels on the peninsula, with it falling dark in 2011 following the death of Kim Jong-Il and in 2013 as military tensions increased.
