North Korea says it has invented ‘hangover-free’ alcohol

Waitresses pouring beer for customers on a restaurant boat in Pyongyang, North Korea

Weeks after claiming it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb, North Korea is now bragging about a new scientific achievement: a hangover-free alcohol.

The Pyongyang Times—the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s state-run newspaper—recently reported that scientists in the country have developed a “suave” liquor made with sweet rice and a type of indigenous ginseng.

State-run media claims that the drink—which is has been under development for several years by North Korea’s Taedonggang Foodstuff Factory—is between 30% and 40% alcohol, yet overindulging in it does not result in any of the typical hangover symptoms. According to the state’s report, the secret involves replacing sugar with “scorched” glutinous rice to remove any bitterness and avoid hangover symptoms.

Observers, however, say this isn’t the first time that North Korea has made a bold scientific claim related to its indigenous ginseng without necessarily offering proof.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

Last year, the state media reported that the country’s researchers had developed medical products using ginseng extracts that could cure a variety of diseases, including MERS, SARS, the Ebola virus, and even AIDS.