President Donald Trump has called on U.S. military leaders to resume testing U.S. nuclear weapons in order to keep pace with other countries such as 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, he wrote on social media just before meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
The U.S. has more nuclear weapons than any other country, Trump stated, with Russia second and China a distant third. The U.S. has not conducted nuclear weapons testing since 1992.
This announcement follows Trump's recent criticism of Russia for testing a nuclear-powered missile with reportedly unlimited range. Trump's post acknowledges the tremendous destructive power of nuclear weapons but claims he had no choice but to renovate the U.S. arsenal during his first term.
He also warned that China's nuclear program will be even within 5 years. While the post did not detail how the tests would be conducted, Trump assured the process will begin immediately, marking a reversal of the long-standing U.S. nuclear testing policy.
The last nuclear weapons test conducted by the U.S. occurred on September 23, 1992, at an underground facility in Nevada. This marked the 1,054th nuclear weapons test performed by the U.S., according to the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
As global tensions rise, particularly with Russia and China's advancements in nuclear capabilities, Trump's directive to restart testing raises complex questions about nuclear strategy and international relations.
