Czech debt could be 'repaid with ginseng root'

The Czech Republic has considered allowing North Korea to repay debts with tonnes of aphrodisiac ginseng roots, it has been revealed.

North Korea owes $10m (£6.4m) for trams and heavy machinery it received during eastern Europe's Soviet era.

The offer of ginseng, said to combat lethargy, arthritis and impotence, was said to have been for 5% of the debt.

But other reports say the Czech Republic is asking for the debt to be repaid in metal instead.

Twenty tons of the root was reportedly on offer as a down payment.

That would have been far in excess of the Czech Republic's annual consumption of ginseng, said to be just under 1.5 tons.

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