Seoul -
South Korea has taken down a metal Christmas tree tower overlooking the border with North Korea, which has condemned the annual colourful light display as a provocation, local media said on Wednesday.
Some observers saw last week's move as part of tentatively warming relations between the Koreas, Yonhap news agency reported.
But an official said it was only because the tower had been given a poor grade in a safety inspection in November, and could collapse in high winds or other adverse physical conditions, it said.
Relations appeared to be improving since the surprise visit to Seoul of a North Korean delegation, led by Hwang Pyong So, vice chairman of the National Defence Commission who is often regarded as the second most-powerful man in Pyongyang.
The delegation met with South Korean security officials at the close of the 2014 Incheon Asian Games this month, and agreed to hold more talks soon.
The 18-metre tower had been lit every Christmas since 1971, prompting threats from Pyongyang to bomb it, until the two sides agreed to stop border propaganda in 2004.
The illuminations resumed in 2010 after the North Korean military sank a South Korean Navy corvette, killing more than 40 people. - Sapa-dpa