North Korea plans to sell its ‘cure-all’ drugs in Russia. There’s no evidence they work.
This week, news broke that North Korean pharmaceutical companies are planning to export medications to Russia. These “miracle drugs” supposedly treat everything from hepatitis and malaria to paralysis — though there’s no evidence they work at all. Meduza explains what Pyongyang wants to send to the Russian market and whether the drugs in question could actually appear in the country’s pharmacies.
In mid-November, reports began to surface that North Korean pharmaceutical companies were preparing to export their drugs to Russia. These weren’t familiar over-the-counter remedies like ibuprofen, but supposedly original medicines developed and manufactured in North Korea — drugs that, according to their producers, can treat everything from Ebola to drug addiction.
The Seoul-based outlet NK News, which first spotted the companies’ patent applications in Russia’s federal registry, listed several examples:
- Royal Blood-Fresh — made from fermented soybean components and said to “improve blood health” (supposedly by lowering cholesterol and preventing blood clots) and to aid in treating nervous system issues such as headaches or limb paralysis
- Tongbanghangamso — a ginseng-based drug marketed in North Korea as a “non-toxic anti-cancer agent”
- Angungsahyang — a mix of musk, essential oils, and unspecified plant extracts that, according to its makers, delivers “immediate effects” for aphasia, paralysis, and even coma
NK News notes that North Korean health products aren’t entirely new to the Russian market. For example, Kumdang-2, a ginseng-based injectable, has been imported for years. Its packaging claims the drug is effective against hepatitis, malaria, tuberculosis, influenza, substance addiction, insomnia, and dozens of other conditions.
Other North Korean remedies with claimed therapeutic effects are also sold in Russia. But none of these drugs are officially registered with the country’s Health Ministry — meaning there’s no entry for them in the State Register of Medicines.
There also isn’t any evidence that the North Korean medications actually work. No clinical trial data for these products can be found — though that’s hardly surprising, given how rarely North Korean scientists publish in international journals. Research on the ingredients themselves is limited mostly to animal studies or very small human samples, which fall far short of what’s needed to establish medical efficacy.
It’s also not clear if these drugs will be approved in Russia. For now, there’s no indication that North Korean medicines are on track to be registered there as official pharmaceuticals. The companies involved have only filed trademark applications — not requests for drug approval. (Six trademarks related to North Korean medicines have already been approved in the past.) Meanwhile, official statements from Russia’s Health Ministry about cooperation with Pyongyang refer solely to Russian-made drugs being shipped to North Korea, not the other way around.
Still, there’s a simpler route North Korean manufacturers might take: selling their products in Russia as dietary supplements. That would allow them to bypass the complex and costly approval process required for medicines. In fact, some of the products are already being illegally sold online for prices ranging from a few thousand to several tens of thousands of rubles (tens to hundreds of dollars).
Even Kumdang-2, the most common North Korean drug sold in Russia, isn’t registered as a dietary supplement — and it legally couldn’t be. The product is an injectable, while Russian law defines supplements as substances intended for oral consumption, not injections.
Perhaps most absurdly, Kumdang-2 — which its makers call the “best remedy” for dozens of illnesses — is officially registered in Russia as an herbal facial toner. The package insert instructs users to apply the liquid to their face, but right below that, it includes a detailed guide for intramuscular injections.
There’s no official explanation for why North Korean pharmaceutical companies are turning to Russia. But it’s likely connected to the deepening alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang. In mid-2024, the two countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty — a pact that’s primarily military in nature. Under the agreement, North Korea has shipped millions of munitions to Russia and sent soldiers to help push Ukrainian forces out of the Kursk region.
But Pyongyang isn’t doing this for free. For a country largely cut off from the global economy, military aid to Russia could be worth billions of dollars. Against that backdrop, allowing North Korean pharmaceuticals into the Russian market could be yet another form of compensation — a thank-you for Kim Jong Un’s support in the war against Ukraine.
All told, we identified 17 approved trademark applications in Russia from North Korean companies — not all of them related to medicine. Nearly all were filed within the past three years. Selling these products won’t generate anywhere near the revenue of arms shipments, but it could still provide Pyongyang with a valuable new stream of foreign currency.