Trump orders resumption of US nuclear weapons testing

President Donald Trump has urged the United States military to resume nuclear weapons testing, arguing that the country must keep pace with the nuclear programs of 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,” Trump wrote on social media shortly before his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, as per foreign media reports.

Trump stated that the United States possesses more nuclear weapons than any other nation, followed by Russia and China, which he described as a “distant third.” The United States has not conducted a nuclear weapons test since 1992.

His announcement came just days after he publicly criticised Russia for testing a nuclear-powered missile said to have an unlimited range.

In his post on the night of October 30, Trump acknowledged the “tremendous destructive power” of nuclear arms but said he had “no choice” but to modernise and expand the US nuclear arsenal during his first term in office. He added that China’s nuclear program “will be even within 5 years,” suggesting Beijing could soon close the gap in capabilities.

While Trump did not specify how or where the renewed testing would take place, he wrote that “the process will begin immediately.”

The move represents a sharp break from long-standing US policy. The last American nuclear weapons test occurred on September 23, 1992, during the presidency of George H. W. Bush, who imposed a moratorium on testing following the end of the Cold War.

Trump’s post appeared just before Xi Jinping’s arrival in South Korea for their first in-person meeting since 2019. The message was reportedly published as Trump was aboard Marine One, en route to meet the Chinese leader at Gimhae International Airport.

The final US nuclear test, codenamed Divider, took place at an underground site in Nevada. It was the 1,054th nuclear weapons test conducted by the United States, according to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, which played a pivotal role in the creation of the first atomic bomb.

The Nevada Test Site, located about 65 miles (105 kilometres) north of Las Vegas, remains under US government operation. According to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, a Smithsonian Institution affiliate, the site “could be authorised again for nuclear weapons testing if deemed necessary.”

By Tamilla Hasanova