President Donald Trump has instructed his defense department to resume nuclear weapons testing “immediately.”
Trump made the announcement via Truth Social on Wednesday night, just before his highly anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
“The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country,” Trump wrote. “This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office. Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice! Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.”
“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” he added. “That process will begin immediately.”
Russia has not tested a nuclear weapon since 1990, while China hasn’t tested one since 1996, The New York Times reports. Washington’s push to restart tests follows a string of perceived Russian provocations with nuclear-capable weapons in recent days.
Trump didn’t respond to a reporter’s question about the announcement as he prepared to meet with Xi on Wednesday night. The Independent has contacted the defense department for comment.
The announcement came after weeks of renewed nuclear sabre-rattling with Russia, which this week tested a nuclear-capable underwater drone they said could not be intercepted.
Russia also tested a nuclear-powered missile with “unlimited range,” adding to a growing arsenal of fast and nuclear-capable cruise missiles. NATO has also carried out nuclear drills this month as part of Operation Steadfast Noon in Europe.
In August, Russia elected to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), by which the Soviet Union and the U.S. had agreed to reduce the number of strategic weapons held by both sides. The decision was announced days after Trump said he was redeploying a pair of “nuclear submarines” to “appropriate regions,” citing “provocative” statements from former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev.
This week, Trump reminded Russia that the U.S. has “a nuclear submarine ... right off their shores,” after the Kremlin’s latest nuclear missile tests.
The U.S. has observed a “voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosive testing since 1992,” according to the Congressional Research Service. That’s the same year Bill Clinton was elected president, The Silence of the Lambs won Best Picture, and the Summer Olympics were hosted in Barcelona, Spain.
Despite the moratorium, the U.S. has maintained the ability to resume these tests at the Nevada National Security Site.
Beth Sanner, a former intelligence official who served in several roles across the CIA, National Security Council and the state department, called the decision a “bad idea” in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday night.
“Yes, we give up a little bit in terms of constraining ourselves when we have a test ban treaty and we uphold it, but when we break that, other countries who are our adversaries benefit more than we do,” Sanner said.
Trump reportedly weighed whether to resume testing during his first term in 2020. But his first administration still reaffirmed the moratorium, along with former President Joe Biden’s administration, according to the Congressional Research Service. Last summer, Trump’s allies were similarly pushing for him to resume nuclear testing if he won a second term in the White House.
Trump’s announcement comes just hours after President Vladimir Putin said that Russia tested Poseidon, an atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone.
Putin described the test as a “huge success” and claimed “there is no way to intercept” the drone. Russia also tested a nuclear-powered cruise missile earlier this week.
