US President Donald Trump announced today that he has ordered nuclear weapons testing to begin. Ahead of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju, South Korea, Trump justified his decision, arguing that he “had no choice” after determining that other powers (namely Russia) have recently conducted tests of weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
“The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country. This was achieved, along with the modernization of existing weapons systems, during my first term (in the White House),” President Trump stated in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that Russia currently has the world’s second-largest nuclear arsenal and China the third, but they may increase them to comparable levels over the next five years.
“Because of their terrible, destructive power, I HATED to do it but I had no choice!”, he emphasized.
Donald Trump’s announcement
“Because of testing by other countries, I have ordered the Department of War (as the US Department of Defense has been renamed) to begin testing our nuclear weapons on equal terms. This process will begin immediately,” Donald Trump emphasized.
The last US nuclear test was conducted on September 23, 1992, at the Nevada Test Site. The test was codenamed “Divider” and was part of the underground nuclear explosion program that the US had conducted since 1945 (starting with “Trinity” in New Mexico). Nuclear tests provide critical information about the performance of new weapons as well as whether older systems remain operational.
In 1992, President George Bush announced a moratorium on testing amid growing international pressure for nuclear disarmament after the end of the Cold War. The US supported the creation of the 1996 treaty, which prohibits all nuclear explosions. Although they have not ratified it, they comply with its commitment in practice.
Since 1995, the US has implemented the “Stockpile Stewardship Program,” which allows them to maintain and modernize nuclear weapons without testing, using advanced computer simulations and laboratory experiments. In total, the United States conducted 1,032 nuclear tests between 1945 and 1992, more than any other country in the world.
