WELLINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- A strong earthquake measuring 6.7 on the Richter scale struck the remote Kermadec Islands, north of New Zealand' North Island on Saturday.

    The quake hit the New Zealand territory, 830 km northeast of Auckland at 12:53 p.m. local time (0053 GMT) at a depth of 10 km, the New Zealand Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences reported.

    No casualties or damages have been reported yet.

    No tsunami warning has been issued by the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

    The islands, prone to severe quakes, have no permanent population. Only a small New Zealand Department of Conservation team live on Raoul island.