Cure for everything: North Korea claims giant medical breakthrough

The authoritarian, impoverished nation better known for pursuing a nuclear program despite global criticism announced Friday it has a drug can prevent and cure MERS, Ebola, SARS and AIDS. Not surprisingly, the secretive state did not provide proof, and the claim is likely to provoke widespread skepticism. But North Korean state media did hint at the miracle drug’s composition: Scientists developed Kumdang-2 from ginseng grown from fertilizer mixed with rare-earth elements. And, the drug was originally produced in 1996, according to the pro-North Korea website Minjok Tongshin.

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.

Korean state media

It’s not the first time North Korea has trumpeted such medical breakthroughs: It announced the same drug during deadly bird flu outbreaks in 2006 and 2013. The 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.

Health biotech