President Donald Trump has directed U.S. military leaders to resume nuclear weapons testing, saying the move is necessary to keep pace with countries such as Russia and China.
The announcement came shortly before Trump entered a high-level meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
“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 Truth Social, using his administration’s preferred term for the Defense Department. “That process will begin immediately.”
The statement followed Trump’s recent criticism of Russia for testing a nuclear-powered missile reportedly capable of unlimited range. While Trump did not specify how or where the U.S. tests would take place, he emphasised that the process would start without delay.
The United States last conducted a nuclear weapons test in Nevada in 1992. Following the end of the Cold War, President George H.W. Bush imposed a moratorium on such testing, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Trump’s post was published just before Xi arrived in South Korea for their first face-to-face meeting since 2019. The message appeared while Trump was aboard Marine One, en route to meet Xi at Gimhae International Airport.
Speaking later aboard Air Force One after the meeting, Trump said the locations for the tests would be decided later but maintained that it was “appropriate” for the U.S. to match other nations in nuclear development.
Russia recently announced that it had successfully tested two new weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
