Trump starts new nuclear arms race as he orders Department of War to begin testing ‘immediately’… just moments before facing off with China’s Xi

Donald Trump orders the Pentagon to begin its first nuclear tests since 1992 – just minutes before the president’s key meeting with China Minister Xi Jinping.

Trump told the War Department to begin nuclear weapons testing ‘immediately’ and declared that military flexibility was needed to combat Russia and China closing the gap in their arms race.

‘The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country,’ it began.

‘This was achieved during my First Term in office, including a complete upgrade and refurbishment of existing weapons. I HATED doing this because of the immense destructive power but I had no choice!’

He added about the arms race: ‘Russia is second and China is a distant third, but will reach the same level in 5 years.’

Trump has announced a mission to increase nuclear weapons testing to compete with other world powers.

‘Due to the testing programs of other countries, I have instructed the War Department to begin testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,’ he said. ‘This process will begin immediately.’

Trump shook hands with Xi in Busan, South Korea, ahead of a showdown that could reshape relations toward a temporary ceasefire after a series of combative rhetoric and actions between the two powers.

Workers are preparing B61-13, a nuclear ‘gravity bomb’ 24 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945

Trump declined to comment when asked about the Truth Social post, saying “thank you” to the press and stating that the question period was over.

Trump joked that his counterpart was a ‘tough negotiator’, while Xi acknowledged ‘frictions’ between the two countries.

The handshake was the first meeting between the world’s two biggest leaders since Trump launched a trade war with China just days after taking office.

The meeting is important for both countries and the duo appeared to be on their best behavior.

“Given our different national circumstances, we do not always agree with each other, and it is normal for the world’s two leading economies to occasionally experience friction,” Xi said, sitting at the table for negotiations at an air base in Busan, South Korea. he said.

Moments before his meeting with Xi, the president blasted a social media post in which he announced that the War Department had ordered Russia and China to “immediately” begin nuclear weapons testing to match the testing level.

‘I think he is a very tough negotiator. This is not good,’ Trump joked to reporters ahead of the meeting.

He added: ‘We will have a great understanding. We have a good relationship.’

President Donald Trump (pictured left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose for a photo as they arrive for talks at Gimhae Air Base, located next to Gimhae International Airport in Busan

Trump’s cabinet met with many Chinese counterparts

Negotiators on both sides see tensions easing due to measured concessions: Xi is expected to ease strict restrictions on China’s rare earth material, while Trump is preparing to roll back his horrific tariffs, according to reports.

While Trump relies on his personal charisma, Xi also comes to the meeting with a strong negotiating hand, given that China produces 80 to 90 percent of the world’s rare earths needed for America’s high-tech industry.

Just last month, Trump took to Truth Social to publicly chastise the Chinese leader, associating him with Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un while criticizing Beijing for plotting ‘against the United States’.

After Moscow’s contact with Putin soured and new U.S. oil trade sanctions tightened pressure on Russia, Trump turned his attention to Beijing to turn Russia’s failed dialogue into pressure on Xi, who has been quietly supporting Putin’s war in Ukraine.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

The move comes after Putin said on Sunday that Russia had successfully tested an ‘unstoppable’ nuclear-powered cruise missile. Moscow says weapons Called ‘Flying’ Chernobyl,’ It can penetrate any defensive shield and has ‘unlimited range’.

Asked about the test of the missile, called SSC-X-9 Skyfall by NATO, on Air Force One, Trump said the United States does not need nuclear weapons to fly because it has a nuclear submarine off the coast of Russia.

“They know we have a nuclear submarine, the largest in the world, right off their coast, I mean, [our missile] He doesn’t need to go 8,000 miles,’ Trump told reporters, according to an audio file released by the White House.

The president made the announcement at Truth Social just hours before his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

US hasn’t tested a real-world nuclear bomb since 1992

‘By the way, I don’t think it’s appropriate for Putin to say: You have to end the war, the war that was supposed to last a week… is now in its fourth year, this is what you should do instead of testing missiles.’

In response to Trump on Monday, the Kremlin defiantly said Russia would be guided by its own national interests.

“Despite all our openness to dialogue with the United States, first of all Russia and the Russian President are guided by our own national interests,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

‘It was so, it is so and it will be so.’

The Kremlin said Russia ensures its own security by developing new weapons.

“There is nothing here that could and should strain relations between Moscow and Washington,” Peskov said.

Trump has repeatedly talked about moving U.S. submarines to Russia’s coast following comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev about the risk of war between nuclear-armed foes.

It is rare for either side to publicly discuss the location of nuclear-armed submarines.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi in 2024

Speaking about Russia’s missile test, Trump said, ‘We are constantly testing missiles.’

‘They don’t play games with us, we don’t play games with them,’ he added.

On Sunday, the Russian president announced the ‘successful’ secret test flight of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile on October 21.

Wearing a military uniform, Putin mentioned the weapon during a late-night visit to a combat command center; Here he received information about the Ukrainian front from Russia’s 70-year-old general-in-chief, Valery Gerasimov.

While he was making this statement, Russian missiles struck housing blocks in Kiev in a barbaric attack, killing at least three sleeping civilians and wounding approximately 30 civilians, including seven children.

Putin, who opposed Trump’s recent calls for peace, also announced the details of the nuclear war drills carried out by his forces last week.

‘The modernity of our nuclear deterrent forces is at the highest level,’ he boasted.

‘Well, it’s probably not an exaggeration to say it’s at a higher level than all the nuclear states.’

Chinese President Xi Jinping steps off the government plane upon arrival in Gimhae

He announced new tests on a missile intended to fly for days and be able to counter all existing Western defenses.

The United States has not tested a nuclear bomb in the real world since 1992.

After decades of declining nuclear stockpiles, the nuclear establishment sees a real possibility that more countries around the world, including India, Pakistan and North Korea, are preparing to enter the nuclear arms race.

The U.S. Department of Energy reports that America has 3,748 nuclear warheads by 2023.

But the nonpartisan Arms Control Association estimates the number is significantly higher, putting the total at 5,225 as of January 2025.

Currently, progress on a treaty banning the testing of nuclear weapons has stalled, and there is already evidence that world powers are moving forward with nuclear rearmament.

Much of America’s plutonium has been sitting around for decades, leading to fears that radioactive decay will damage obsolete weapons.

Plutonium has five ‘common’ isotopes with different decay rates, ranging from just 87 years to 24,000 years, according to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission.