North Korea claims to have discovered cure for Aids, Ebola, Mers and Sars

The impoverished state of North Korea has claimed it has had a scientific breakthrough which could significantly change the world for the better.

The country, controlled by Kim Jong-un, announced it has a drug that can prevent and cure Aids, Ebola, Mers and Sars. Not only that, it claims it developed the drug as far back as 1996.

Unfortunately, the secretive state known for its preference of propaganda over truth did not provide any actual proof of this miracle cure drug.

According to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), scientists developed drug Kumdang-2 from ginseng grown from fertilizer mixed with "rare-earth elements".

"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.

The claim comes following the recent outbreak of Mers – also known as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome – in neighbouring rival country South Korea, which has killed at least 24 people.

There is currently no vaccine against the virus, which kills around one third of the people it infects.

During the height of the Ebola outbreak, North Korea banned foreign tourists from entering the country and imposed some of the strictest controls anywhere in the world. This is despite the fact there were no reported cases of the disease anywhere near the east Asian country.

Despite claiming to have a cure for deadly diseases, such as Aids, North Korea is reportedly struggling to combat more common diseases like tuberculosis, with respiratory infections among its citizens now the most common causes of death, according to the World Health Organization.