BUSAN, South Korea--President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the U.S. military to immediately restart the process for testing nuclear weapons after a halt of 33 years, a move that appeared to be a message to rival nuclear powers China and Russia.
Trump made the surprise announcement on Truth Social while aboard his Marine One helicopter flying to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for a trade-negotiating session in Busan, South Korea.
"Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately," Trump posted."Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years."
It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to nuclear-explosive testing, which would be carried out by the National Nuclear Security Administration, or flight testing of nuclear-capable missiles. No nuclear power - other than North Korea most recently in 2017 - has carried out explosive nuclear testing in over 25 years.
Post-Soviet Russia has never tested. The Soviet Union last tested in 1990, and China in 1996. Trump's fellow Republican, President George H.W. Bush, announced a U.S. testing moratorium in 1992 after the last U.S test in September that year.
Russia - which tested a new nuclear-powered cruise missile on October 21, held nuclear readiness drills on October 22 and tested a new nuclear-powered autonomous torpedo on October 28 - said it hoped Trump had been properly informed that Moscow had not tested an actual nuclear weapon itself. "President Trump mentioned in his statement that other countries are engaged in testing nuclear weapons. Until now, we didn't know that anyone was testing," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Putin, who commands the world's biggest arsenal of nuclear warheads, has repeatedly said that if any country tests a nuclear weapon then Russia will do so too. Xi Jinping has more than doubled China's nuclear warhead arsenal to an estimated 600 nuclear weapons in the past five years, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has tested two new nuclear-powered weapons in recent days.
China's Foreign Ministry called for the U.S. to abide by its commitment to a moratorium on nuclear testing and uphold the global strategic balance and stability.
Robert Floyd, head of the Vienna-based Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, expressed alarm."Any explosive nuclear weapon test by any state would be harmful and destabilising for global non-proliferation efforts and for international peace and security," he said.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has repeatedly said current nuclear risks are already alarmingly high and urged countries to avoid all actions that could lead to miscalculation or escalation with "catastrophic" consequences, said deputy U.N. spokesperson Farhan Haq.
"As he has said, we must never forget the disastrous legacy of over 2,000 nuclear weapons tests carried out over the last 80 years, and that nuclear testing can never be permitted under any circumstances," said Haq.
Later, on his way back to Washington, Trump said testing was needed to ensure the U.S. keeps up with rival nuclear powers. "With others doing testing, I think it's appropriate that we do also," Trump said on board Air Force One, adding that nuclear test sites would be determined later.
Asked whether the world was entering a more risky phase around nuclear weapons, Trump dismissed the threat, saying U.S. stocks were "well locked up" before adding that he would welcome denuclearisation.
