Trump tells Pentagon to resume testing US nukes

President Donald Trump has ordered the US military to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing after a 33-year hiatus, in what appeared to be a message to rival nuclear powers China and Russia.

Trump made the surprise announcement at Truth Social while flying in a Marine One helicopter to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for a trade negotiation session in Busan, South Korea.

He said he had instructed the Pentagon to test the US nuclear arsenal “on an equal basis” with other nuclear powers.

“Due to other countries’ testing programs, I have directed the War Department to begin testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. This process will begin immediately,” Trump said.

“Russia is in second place and China is in third place, but it will reach the same level in 5 years.”

Xi has more than doubled China’s nuclear warhead arsenal in the past five years, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has tested two new nuclear-powered weapons in recent days.

It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to a nuclear explosive test to be carried out by the National Nuclear Security Administration or a flight test of nuclear-capable missiles.

Russia, which tested a new nuclear-powered cruise missile on October 21, held nuclear readiness drills on October 22, and tested a new nuclear-powered autonomous torpedo on October 28, said it hoped Trump had been correctly informed that Moscow had not tested an actual nuclear weapon itself.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, “President Trump stated in his statement that other countries were conducting nuclear weapons tests. We did not know that anyone had tested so far.”

Putin, who has the world’s largest arsenal of nuclear warheads, has repeatedly said that if any country tests nuclear weapons, Russia will do the same.

No nuclear power has conducted explosive nuclear tests in more than 25 years, with the exception of North Korea, most recently in 2017. Post-Soviet Russia never tested it. The Soviet Union last tested in 1990, the USA in 1992, and China in 1996.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the United States to comply with its commitment to a moratorium on nuclear tests and maintain global strategic balance and stability.

“Any explosive nuclear weapons test by any state would be harmful and destabilizing to global non-proliferation efforts and to international peace and security,” said Robert Floyd, head of the Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization.

Deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly said that current nuclear risks are already alarmingly high and has urged countries to avoid any actions that could lead to miscalculations or escalation of tensions with “catastrophic” consequences.

Later, on his way back to Washington, Trump said the testing was needed to ensure the United States could keep up with rival nuclear powers.

“I think it’s appropriate for us to test while others are also testing,” Trump said on Air Force One, adding that nuclear test sites would be determined later.

Asked whether the world was entering a riskier phase regarding nuclear weapons, Trump dismissed the threat, saying US stocks were “well locked in” and added that he would welcome denuclearization.

“I would like to see denuclearization because we have so many weapons that Russia is second, China is third, and China will catch up in four or five years,” he said.

Trump’s decision comes after China has rapidly expanded its nuclear stockpile in recent years and comes on the heels of Russia announcing successful tests of a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable cruise missile and a nuclear-powered torpedo.

Earlier this week, Trump touched on Russia’s moves into Asia, telling reporters that Putin should be working to end the war in Ukraine “instead of testing missiles.”

US military officials estimate that China will have more than 1,000 nuclear weapons by 2030. According to the Washington-based Arms Control Association, the United States has a stockpile of 5,225 nuclear warheads and Russia has 5,580.

Daryl Kimball, director of the Arms Control Association, said it would take at least 36 months for the United States to resume controlled nuclear testing and that the president was “misinformed and out of touch.”