U.S. President Donald Trump said he has ordered the Department of Defense to restart nuclear weapons testing for the first time in more than 30 years. The announcement came just before his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.
“Because other countries are testing their nuclear weapons, I’ve told the Department of War to start testing ours on an equal level. That process will begin right away,” Trump said on his social media platform, Truth Social, ahead of his meeting with Xi in South Korea.
Trump added that “Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within five years.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia had tested a Poseidon nuclear-powered torpedo, which experts say could cause massive radioactive waves and destroy coastal areas.
The United States last tested a nuclear weapon in 1992. Tests help scientists understand how new weapons work and make sure old ones still function.
Experts say that restarting tests would be viewed by Russia and China as a strong show of U.S. military power.
The first U.S. nuclear test took place in July 1945 in Alamogordo, New Mexico. A few weeks later, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the Second World War.
