South Korea's Christmas tree which North Korea 'threatened to bomb' to be rebuilt

The tree's lights can be seen from across the border in North Korea

Christians in South Korea are to rebuild a makeshift Christmas tree, which bordering North Korea has in the past threatened to destroy and branded a “madcap confrontation racket”.

Seoul’s defence ministry announced on Tuesday that it will allow a Christian group to reconstruct a tower on a hill miles from the border with North Korea, which is made into a makeshift Christmas tree using lights, and topped with a cross.

The confirmation comes weeks after the 1970s steel tower on Aegibong hill, west of Seoul, was dismantled because tests showed it was structurally unsound.

In response, Protestant groups in South Korea quickly launched campaigns for the tower to be rebuilt.

Pynogyang reportedly regarded the tree as a threat to its strict controls on its citizens, as its bright, white lights were visible from across the border, in the town of Kaesong.

In the past, North Korean officials have slammed the tree as a tool for psychological warfare, and threatened to fire artillery weapons at it, the Wall Street Journal reported.

But the Christian Council of Korea, one of the country’s biggest Christian organisations, said last month that the tower was a symbol of peace and not a tool for propaganda.

Defense Minister Han Min-koo implicitly supported the Protestant groups early last month when he told the nation’s parliament that removing the tower “wasn’t the right thing to do.”

North Korean state media responded by reporting that the country’s leaders regard the tower as “not just a means for religious events but a symbol of madcap confrontation racket for escalating tensions.”

The new tower is expected to be erected by the Christian Council of Korea, before being adorned with Christmas lights for around a fortnight from 23 December, Defense Ministry Spokesman Kim Min-seok said.