Former NATO Ambassador Kurt Volker told Newsmax on Friday that one of the symptoms of Russia's "weak position" in its ongoing war against Ukraine is its need for North Korean troops, who are suffering mass casualties as "cannon fodder."

Volker joined "National Report" to talk about Friday's report out of the White House that 1,000 North Korean soldiers were killed or injured this past week while fighting on behalf of Russia. Volker agreed with White House spokesperson John Kirby’s assessment that the North Koreans are "expendable."

"Well, that's exactly right. And that's the way that Russia treats its own troops as well — as expendable," Volker said. "They've been losing, on average, 1,000 to 1,500 soldiers per day throughout the last several months. And that's why they brought in North Koreans because they needed more cannon fodder.

"And it's no surprise that they are not effective fighting. They don't speak the same language, they have different training, they have different command and control, different procedures. This is one of the reasons why Russia keeps them in the Kursk region inside Russia rather than moving them into Ukraine, at the moment, although they could do that later," Volker added.

"It's really no surprise at all. … There are many, many signals right now that Russia is in a weak position. Its economy, its inflation, its interest rates, its labor shortage, the need for North Korean soldiers, the need for North Korean artillery.

"So this is teeing up well for President [Donald] Trump to push for some kind of solution in 2025, because frankly, Russia needs that as well.”

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