President Donald Trump has called on US military leaders to resume nuclear weapons testing in order to keep pace with other countries such as Russia and China.
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” he wrote on social media just before meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
The US has more nuclear weapons than any other country, Trump said, with Russia second and China a “distant third”. It has not conducted nuclear testing since 1992.
It comes just days after Trump denounced Russia for testing a nuclear-powered missile. The Kremlin says its tests were “not nuclear”.
Details of the announcement
Later, on Air Force One after the two leaders’ meeting, Trump said the nuclear test sites would be determined later.
“With others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also,” Trump said on his way back to Washington.
No country except North Korea has conducted a nuclear test explosion in this century, according to the Arms Control Association (ACA) — and even Pyongyang announced a moratorium in 2018.
Trump’s announcement did not make it clear whether he was referring to testing a nuclear explosion, or simply a weapon system that would be capable of delivering a nuclear weapon.
His post on Wednesday night acknowledged the “tremendous destructive power” of nuclear weapons, but said he had “no choice” but to update and renovate the US arsenal during his first term in office.
He also said that China’s nuclear programme “will be even within 5 years”.
A major policy reversal
The announcement marks an apparent reversal of long-standing US policy. The last American nuclear weapons testing was carried out in 1992, before former President George HW Bush issued a moratorium as the Cold War ended.
Russia announced over the weekend that it had successfully tested two new weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads — including a missile the Kremlin said could penetrate US defence systems, and an underwater drone called Poseidon, capable of hitting the American west coast and triggering radioactive ocean swells. But those tests did not involve the detonation of nuclear weapons.
On Thursday, Russia denied it had carried out nuclear tests.
“Regarding the tests of Poseidon and Burevestnik, we hope that the information was conveyed correctly to President Trump,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. “This cannot in any way be interpreted as a nuclear test.”
The Kremlin said the United States had not notified Russia of its intention to conduct new nuclear weapons testing.
International response and historical context
China also responded, urging the US to honour its commitment to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
The US currently holds about 5,177 nuclear warheads, according to the Federation of American Scientists, while Russia is estimated to have roughly 5,459. China remains a distant third with around 600.
The last US nuclear weapons test took place on 23 September 1992, codenamed Divider, at an underground facility in Nevada — the 1,054th test conducted by the United States. Experts estimate it would take at least 36 months to restart underground testing at the site.
Critics, including the Arms Control Association, say there is no technical, military, or political justification for resuming tests, warning that Trump’s move could trigger a global chain reaction and undermine the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
Also read: ON THIS DAY: Nuclear non-proliferation treaty signed (1968)
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