July 13 (UPI) – North Korea plans to increase production of traditional herbal remedies, state media said.

Korean Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on Tuesday that the production of Korean traditional medicine is a “very important” task for the regime to “make people aware of the superiority of the socialist system.”

The newspaper also said that at the third plenary meeting of the eighth party central committee in June, the decision was taken to produce “highly effective Korean drugs at various Korean drug production bases.”

“The time has come for all workers and employees in the Korean medical sector to become more aware of the expectations of the Party and the people for the development of the health industry,” said Rodong.

“They should redouble their efforts to increase the effectiveness of drugs and increase the production of drugs.”

North Korea previously touted the effectiveness of Korean drugs. In February, the Rodong said traditional remedies could be used to cure “respiratory illnesses” that occur in winter.

In 2015, during the MERS outbreak in South Korea, North Korea claimed that its independently developed Kumdang No. 2 vaccine could prevent MERS, SARS, AIDS and pneumonia.

Pyongyang started promoting Kumdang No. 2 as a panacea in 2003, when the SARS outbreak was reported in Hong Kong and China. The vaccine emerged as an antidote again in 2006 and 2013, when cases of bird flu threatened populations around the world.

The North Korean vaccine was not discussed on Tuesday.