U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the military to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing the first such move in more than three decades just minutes before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
Trump made the surprise announcement on his Truth Social platform while aboard Marine One en route to Busan for trade talks with Xi, saying the Pentagon had been directed to begin tests on an “equal basis” with other nuclear powers.
“Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately,” Trump posted, adding, “Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years.”
It was not immediately clear whether the order referred to underground nuclear-explosive tests or missile flight tests involving nuclear-capable systems. The U.S. has not conducted an explosive nuclear test since 1992.
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions among global nuclear powers. China has more than doubled its nuclear arsenal to about 600 warheads in the past five years, while Russia recently claimed successful tests of nuclear-powered cruise missiles and torpedoes.
Earlier this week, Trump criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s missile tests, saying Moscow should “focus on ending the war in Ukraine instead of testing missiles.”
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According to the Arms Control Association, the U.S. holds an estimated 5,225 nuclear warheads, while Russia possesses around 5,580.
Trump’s directive drew immediate criticism in Washington. Democratic Representative Dina Titus of Nevada said she would introduce legislation to block any resumption of nuclear testing.
Daryl Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association, described Trump’s move as “misinformed and dangerous,” warning that it could “trigger a chain reaction of nuclear testing by U.S. adversaries and undermine the global non-proliferation regime.”
Kimball added that resuming underground nuclear tests would take at least three years to prepare at the Nevada Test Site.
The United States last tested a nuclear weapon in 1992, followed by China in 1996 and Russia in 1990. Most major nuclear powers ceased testing in the 1990s, though North Korea conducted its last known test in 2017.
Trump’s decision marks a dramatic shift in U.S. nuclear policy and could reignite global tensions over arms control at a time when efforts to limit nuclear proliferation have largely stalled.
