by REERA YOO | @reeraboo
editor@charactermedia.com
The South Korean Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that it will allow a Christian group to rebuild the Christmas tower near the inter-Korean border, infuriating North Korea, which had threatened to fire artillery at the old tower that once stood in the same spot.
In October, the South Korean military dismantled the 1970’s steel tower due to safety concerns for tourists. According to the New York Times, tests showed that the 59-foot structure had become unstable and dangerous, especially with the giant rusted cross sitting on top of the “tree.”
Conservative Christian groups and anti-North Korea activists, however, soon protested the dismantlement, accusing the government of caving into pressure from Pyongyang. The Christian Council of Korea (CCK) also began campaigning for a new tower to replace the old tower.
For decades, the tower had stood on a hilltop west of Seoul and just a few miles away from the North Korean town of Kaesong. During the holiday season, it had been lit with Christmas lights, which can be seen across the border.
North Korea, which forbids religious activities, frequently protested against the tower’s lights, calling them a tool for “psychological warfare.” When South Korea’s Defense Ministry accepted CCK’s request for a new tower on Tuesday, North Korea fired another round of protests, saying that the tower “is not just a means for religious events but a symbol of madcap confrontation racket for escalating tensions.”
In response, the Defense Ministry’s spokesman Kim Min-seok said, “We accepted the request to protect religious activities and to honor the group’s wish to illuminate the tower in hopes of peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
The new tower will be installed by the CCK and will be illuminated from Dec. 23 to Jan. 6.
Photo courtesy of Kim Jae-Myung, AFP.
