South and North Korean colleges have jointly hosted an academic symposium on genetic analyses of plant resources. 

The conference was held Wednesday in Ulsan and cohosted by the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology(UNIST) and Pyongyang University of Science and Technology to mark the tenth anniversary of the founding of both schools.

The event was arranged six months after they signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on academic exchanges. 

Genome studies on plant resources are aimed at helping North Korea resolve its food crisis by facilitating the development of seeds suited to the natural environment in the North. 

More joint events could follow as the two science colleges agreed to exchanges on a wide array of fields, including biomedicine, international finance, renewable energy and global warming.