North Korea promotes traditional medicines in bid to fight Covid outbreak

State media have told patients to use painkillers as well as unverified home remedies such as willow leaf tea

North Korea is ramping up production of drugs and medical supplies including sterilisers and thermometers as well as encouraging the use of traditional Korean medicines said to reduce fever and pain as it battles an unprecedented coronavirus outbreak.

Traditional medicines were effective in prevention and cure of the malicious disease," state-run news agency KCNA said, although no medical evidence exists for those claims.