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Xinhua Asia-Pacific news summary at 0600 GMT, April 23

Xinhua, April 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

New Zealand's capital was shaken by a 5.1- magnitude earthquake Thursday, but no injuries or damage have been reported.

The government's GeoNet monitoring service initially reported the quake as magnitude 5.2 just after it struck at 10:42 a.m. just to the east of the town of Seddon in the northeast of the South Island. (New Zealand-Quake)

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SEOUL -- South Korea's economic growth stayed below 1 percent for four straight quarters due to the sluggishness in exports and private consumption, boosting worries about a prolonged trend of low growth, central bank data showed Thursday.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased 0.8 percent in the first quarter from three months earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK). It was roughly in line with the BOK's growth outlook and market expectations. (South Korea-Economy)

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CANBERRA -- Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu have announced plans to stop the flow of Australians across the Turkish-Syrian border to fight for the Islamic State (IS) group.

The pair, in a statement released in Canberra on Thursday, said the two countries had agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation to counter terrorism, tackle terrorist financing and mitigate the threats from foreign fighters. (Australia-Turkey-Cooperation)

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SEOUL -- Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is likely to visit Russia early next month to attend a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, Russia's ambassador to Seoul said Thursday.

Alexandro Timonin, Russian ambassador to South Korea, told a press conference with local media reporters in his embassy that Kim "will probably go" to Moscow on May 9 when Russia holds festivities to mark the Soviet's World War II victory, including a massive parade on the Red Square. (DPRK Leader-Russian-Visit) Endi