North Korea claims it has a cure for MERS

SEOUL, June 19 (UPI) -- North Korea claimed it has developed a vaccine that cures the deadly diseases MERS, SARS and AIDS.

The remedy contains "rare earth resources" and includes ginseng extract, cultivated in the North Korean city of Kaesong with the aid of fertilizer, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Friday.

North Korea's independently developed "Kumdang No. 2 Vaccine" was touted as an extraordinary panacea. Pyongyang's state-controlled media KCNA said the immune system activator was capable of preventing MERS, SARS, AIDS and pneumonia, South Korean newspaper Hankook Ilbo reported.

The claims remain dubious, if not absurd, according to South Korea media.

Tuberculosis poses enormous health risks inside North Korea, and according to the U.N. 2,500 North Koreans die annually from the disease.

KCNA claimed the vaccine blocks the incoming virus, allowing the body to remain strong by placing the immune system into action. Sometimes, North Korea propaganda said, the strengthening of the immune system can even destroy the presence of viruses in the body.

This is not the first time North Korea has heaped praise on its independently developed vaccine. Pyongyang has promoted the Kumdang No. 2 as a panacea since 2003, when the SARS epidemic paralyzed Hong Kong and China. The vaccine again emerged as an antidote in 2006 and 2013, when cases of avian flu threatened global populations.

North Korea, however, continues to struggle with cases of not only tuberculosis but also typhus and pneumonia.

The announcement from Pyongyang comes at a time when South Korea is working around the clock to prevent further spread of the MERS coronavirus.

North Korea has recently requested the South's help in monitoring the disease at the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

Seoul's Health Ministry said on Friday cases of MERS have "leveled off" but all current cases are being monitored. There are now 166 confirmed cases of MERS in South Korea and 24 MERS-related deaths, according to South Korean newspaper Donga Ilbo.