Fresh from greeting military exercises on the 1st anniversary of the Yeonpyeong Island shelling with two weeks of threats to bomb the Blue House, Pyongyang has now turned its ire on the presence of three Christmas trees to be erected in locations clearly visible from within North Korea.
Following the acceptance of a request from a religious group to be allowed to erect a steel tree on Aegibong, a hill outside Gimpo City, just 3km from North Korea, the government has revealed that it also plans to erect light displays in two further locations near the Military Demarcation Line, one central and one in the east at Unification Observatory. Although the tree on Aegibong was erected in 2010, this year marks the first time that three trees will have appeared since a 2004 agreement between the two Koreas to cease propaganda activities along the DMZ.
The Christmas tree towers are expected to be lit from mid December to early January.
On the 11th, North Korea issued scathing criticism of the South Korean decision to allow the tree on Aegibong, saying through propaganda website ‘Uriminzokkiri’ that it “will create an unpredictable situation,” and adding, “If the Southern conservative faction switches on the lights on this confrontational tower, it will incite the North and be the realization of their psychological scheming.”
The South Korean government will be on full alert in case of further North Korean provocations in response to the lighting of the Christmas tree. However, the South Korean government believes that North Korea’s aggression has more to do with creating tension to generate internal solidarity.
