North Korea accuses South of aggravating tensions over Christmas tree

North Korean state media has lashed out at plans to increase the height of a huge electronic “Christmas tree” – also know as a Christmas tower – near the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that forms a border between the countries.

Pyongyang has long claimed that the tower is part of Seoul’s “psychological warfare”, and its annual illuminations have been suspended in the past to respect inter-Korean agreements to try to improve relations.

Constructed in 1971, the huge steel tower, known as Aegibong, is located near Gimpo in South Korea just under two miles from the border.

The tower was torn down last month due to safety reasons, but the community in Gimpo have said they’d like to rebuild it.

North Korean state media said on Sunday that the tree was not “merely a means of religious services” but a “symbol of frantic anti-North confrontation rackets” aimed at aggravating “extreme tension” between the two Koreas.

It has also become a point of tension between Christian groups in the South.

A coalition led by the Christian Council of Korea – a conservative Christian group – argues that the tree is a “symbol of peace” and dismisses claims that it is worsens inter-Korean relations as far-fetched. They recently proposed a fundraising campaign to restore it.

But some, including the National Clergy Conference for Justice and Peace – a progressive Christian group – have argued that the tree is a symbol of the destruction of peace between the Koreas and have called for it to be taken down.

Some experts have drawn comparisons with the back and forth over the anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns being sent by activists in the South.

“The North Koreans want to present the persons involved in the tree venture as troublemakers, and hope that their actions will cause friction with the local population and other sections of South Korean (ROK) public opinion,” said Balazs Szalontai, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Kookmin University.

“Since the ROK Ministry of Defence must authorise the tree-lighting, the North Koreans can hold ROK authorities responsible for the issue, and they can claim that the dialogue is actually obstructed by the Park administration,” Szalontai adds.

“In general, the ROK authorities are reluctant to curb [such actions], but even the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) acknowledged once or twice that [the ROK] sometimes did hinder leafleting for the sake of tranquility. Now apparently they think that the North’s behaviour is not cooperative enough to make this gesture.”

The South Korean government has previously said that blocking activists sending leaflets over the border goes against laws protecting free speech.

An original version of this article first appeared on NK News