SEOUL (THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Education authorities in South Korea are stepping up their push for school-organised field trips to North Korea, following the success of the inter-Korea summit last Friday (April 27).

A field trip to North Korea would offer an opportunity for the two Koreas to make meaningful exchanges in the education sector, the Gwangju Office of Education said on Monday.

Prior to the inter-Korea summit, education authorities had reportedly submitted formal requests regarding North Korea field trips to the presidential Blue House and the Unification Ministry.

To follow up with their requests, the Office of Education said a task force of seven experts in the field of unification and inter-Korea exchange was launched.

Education authorities also stressed that a visit to the North by the nation's city and provincial superintendents comes as a priority in order to advocate inter-Korea education cooperation.

The purpose of the visit is mainly to discuss what kind of educational exchanges are vital to the Koreas and lay out future plans in education, the Office of Education said.

In memory of the Gwangju Student Independence Movement against the imperial Japanese that falls on Nov 3, officials said they plan to invite a North Korean delegation of students to the South to start off the full-scale exchanges in education.