SKorean Christmas tree sign of new propaganda war

As troops stood guard and a choir sang carols Tuesday, South Koreans lit a massive steel Christmas tree that overlooks the world’s most heavily armed border and is within sight of atheist North Korea.

The lighting of the tree after a seven-year hiatus marked a pointed return to a tradition condemned in Pyongyang as propaganda. The provocative ceremony — which must receive government permission — was also a sign that President Lee Myung-bak’s administration is serious about countering the North’s aggression with measures of its own in the wake of an artillery attack that killed four South Koreans last month.

While the North has made some conciliatory gestures in recent days — indicating to a visiting U.S. governor that it might allow international inspections of its nuclear programs — Seoul appears unmoved.

SOURCE