President Trump said on Wednesday that he has directed the Department of Defense (DOD) to immediately begin testing US nuclear weapons on par with China and Russia.
“The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country,” Trump wrote. “During my first term in office, this was accomplished, including a complete update and renewal of existing weapons. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I hated to do this, but had no choice! Russia is in second place, and China is in third place, but within 5 years it will also be done.”
Hill has contacted the Pentagon for comment.
Trump’s announcement on TruthSocial came as he was scheduled to meet face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday for the first time since 2019.
Trump later ignored a reporter’s question about the move during a meeting with Xi and the Chinese delegation in South Korea, just before the reporters were escorted out of the room.
The US stopped explosive testing of nuclear weapons in 1992.
Trump’s former national security adviser, Robert C. O’Brien, had in June last year encouraged presidential candidate Trump to test nuclear weapons if he wins the 2024 White House election.
O’Brien said, “Washington should, for the first time since 1992, test new nuclear weapons for reliability and safety in the real world – not just using computer models.”wrote In an article in Foreign Affairs magazine, which was published in June last year. “If China and Russia continue to refuse to engage in good-faith arms control negotiations, the United States should also resume production of uranium-235 and plutonium-239, the primary fissile isotopes of nuclear weapons.”
Russia claims to have tested its new nuclear-capable cruise missile,Burevestnik known asLast week, which reportedly flew 8,700 miles.
The test drew international condemnation, including from Trump, who called it “inappropriate” because he is pressuring the Kremlin to come to the table and negotiate a deal to end the Russia–Ukraine war.
“You have to end the war,” the president said Monday. “A war that should have taken a week is now in its fourth year.” “That’s what you should be doing instead of testing missiles.”
“We test missiles all the time. They’re not playing games with us and we’re not playing games with them,” Trump said.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Moscowsuccessfully tested A new nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone. The test was conducted on Tuesday, with Putin claiming that the nuclear reactor powering the Poseidon drone is “100 times smaller” than that of submarines.
Updated at 10:27 pm EDT
