Seoul/Washington, Oct 31: President Donald Trump on Wednesday directed the U.S. military to resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time in more than 30 years, citing the need to keep pace with Russia and China amid renewed global tensions.
“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, hours before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
The United States last carried out a nuclear test on Sept. 23, 1992, at the Nevada Test Site, before then-President George H.W. Bush declared a moratorium as the Cold War ended. Since then, Washington has adhered to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), though it has never formally ratified it.
Trump said the U.S. still possesses more nuclear weapons than any other nation, followed by Russia and China, but warned that Beijing’s arsenal “will be even within five years.” He said testing was necessary to ensure that America’s nuclear deterrent remains credible.
The move marks a sharp reversal of long-standing U.S. policy and comes just 100 days before the New START Treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms control pact between the U.S. and Russia, is due to expire in February 2026.
It was unclear whether Trump’s directive refers to underground nuclear explosions or non-explosive testing of delivery systems. He said test sites would be determined later, adding: “With others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also.”
Russia and China respond
The Kremlin denied recent U.S. claims that it had conducted nuclear tests, insisting that its trials of new weapons were non-nuclear. “If someone departs from the moratorium, Russia will act accordingly,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
China urged Washington to “earnestly fulfil its obligations under the CTBT” and to maintain its suspension of nuclear testing.
Global concern over arms race
The Arms Control Association (ACA) condemned Trump’s decision, warning it could trigger a new nuclear arms race and undermine decades of non-proliferation efforts. “The U.S. has no technical, military or political justification for resuming nuclear explosive testing,” said ACA executive director Daryl G. Kimball, calling the move “misinformed and out of touch.”
He warned that renewed testing could “blow apart the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty” and provoke retaliation by other nuclear powers. Restarting underground testing at the Nevada site would take at least three years, experts said.
Political and public backlash
Opposition Democrats also criticized the announcement. Representative Dina Titus of Nevada said she would introduce legislation to block the move, warning that nuclear testing would face strong public resistance.
The U.S. first entered the nuclear age in 1945 with the Trinity test in New Mexico and remains the only nation to use atomic weapons in war, when it bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 210,000 people.
According to the Federation of American Scientists, the U.S. currently holds about 5,200 nuclear warheads, compared with Russia’s 5,500 and China’s 600, with Beijing expected to exceed 1,000 by 2030.
