Master of war and medicine … This picture released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watching the firing of a new anti-ship rocket being deployed at the naval units of the Korean People’s Army (KPA). Source: AFP Source: AFP
NORTH KOREA says it has succeeded where the greatest minds in science have failed.
The authoritarian, impoverished nation better known for pursuing a nuclear program despite global criticism announced Friday it has a drug can prevent and cure MESS, ebola, SARS and AIDS.
The secretive state did not provide proof, and the claim is likely to provoke widespread scepticism.
The official Korean Central News Agency said scientists developed Kumdang-2 from ginseng grown from fertiliser mixed with rare-earth elements. According to the pro-North Korea website Minjok Tongshin, the drug was originally produced in 1996.
Flushed with success … North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting the anti-aircraft artillery academy at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Source: AFP Source: AFP
“Malicious virus infections like SARS, ebola and MERS are diseases that are related to immune systems, so they can be easily treated by Kumdang-2 injection drug, which is a strong immune reviver,” KCNA said.
North Korea shut-out foreign tourists for half a year with some of the world’s strictest ebola controls, even though no cases of the disease were reported anywhere near the country, before lifting the restrictions earlier this year.
It is believed to be struggling to combat diseases such as tuberculosis, and respiratory infections are among its most common causes of death, according to the World Health Organisation.
North Korea trumpeted the same drug during deadly bird flu outbreaks in 2006 and 2013.
The North’s claim comes as rival South Korea fights an outbreak of MERS that has killed two dozen people and sickened more than 160 since last month. There is no vaccine for the disease.
Originally published as Has North Korea cured AIDS?