Xinhua Asia-Pacific News Summary at 1000 GMT, April 19

TOKYO -- Mount Kirishima on the southwestern Japanese main island of Kyushu erupted on Thursday, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

According to the weather agency's preliminary information, the eruption at the 1,700 meters high group of volcanoes occurred at 3:43 p.m. local time, close to Mt. Io. (Japan-Eruption)

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SEOUL -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday that a dramatic change is going on in the Korean Peninsula citing the successive summits between the two Koreas and between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Moon made the remarks during a meeting with presidents of 47 local media outlets, saying the summits would be a dramatic change that nobody has ever expected, according to the presidential Blue House. (Korean Peninsula-Change)

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SEOUL -- A hotline of direct dialogue between leaders of the two Koreas will be connected from Friday, the Blue House of South Korea said Thursday.

Kim Eui-kyeom, spokesman for South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told a press briefing that the hotline between Moon and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), will be connected on April 20. (S.Korea-DPRK-Hotline)

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SYDNEY -- A new study by Australian researchers on Thursday suggested it's highly unlikely the Great Barrier Reef will ever fully recover from the bleaching event in 2016.

The ecology of one-third of the world's largest reef system permanently changed in 2016, when an extended marine heatwave killed off massive amounts of coral. (The Great Barrier Reef-Bleach) Enditem