AFP/Seoul
North Korea claims it has developed a vaccine that is "very effective" in curing Mers, Ebola and Aids, as well as a range of other diseases and ailments, state news agency KCNA reported.
The drug, known as Kumdang-2, is reportedly able to treat everything from AIDS to tuberculosis and cancer, as well as "harm from the use of computers" and morning sickness, according to the drug's website.
South Korea is currently battling with an outbreak of Mers, which has killed 24 people while 166 cases have been confirmed -- the largest outbreak of the disease outside Saudi Arabia.
Developed by North Korea's Pugang Pharmaceutic Company -- and promoted under the tag line "Everyone has the right to be healthy" -- the vaccine is made of extracts from ginseng with the injection of rare earth elements, KCNA said.
"The Kumdang-2 injection, a strong immune activator, which is produced in DPRK (North Korea), is very effective in curing diseases caused by malignant viruses such as SARS, Ebola and Mers," said the report.
The impoverished communist state, known to have a weak health infrastructure, claims to have been testing this cure-all drug since 1989, and has previously trumpeted the efficacy of the drug.
North Korea has taken drastic measures in the past to guard against viral diseases, and last year imposed a four-month ban on foreign tourists, purportedly due to concern at the spread of the Ebola virus.
It has recently intensified screening and vowed "watertight" measures at the international airport and at border crossings to ward off the Mers virus.
