Trump appears to suggest that the United States will resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time in 30 years

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — President Donald Trump appeared to suggest that the United States will resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time in three decades, saying it would be “on equal footing” with Russia and China.

The Kremlin indicated that the global ban on nuclear testing remains in place, but warned that if any country resumes nuclear testing, Russia will follow suit.

There was no indication that the United States would begin detonating the warheads, but Trump provided few details about what appeared to be a major shift in US policy.

He made the announcement on social media minutes before his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday in South Korea. He offered little clarity when he spoke to reporters later aboard Air Force One during his return to Washington.

In fact, the US military does regularly test its missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, but it has not detonated these weapons since 1992. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which the United States has signed but not ratified, has been adhered to since its adoption by all countries that possess nuclear weapons, North Korea being the only exception.

However, Trump noted that the changes were necessary because other countries were testing the weapons. It was not clear what he was referring to, but it evoked Cold War-era escalations.

“Because of the testing programs being conducted by other countries, I have instructed the War Department to begin testing our nuclear weapons on an equal footing,” he said in a post on his Truth Social website. “This process will begin immediately.”

The Kremlin warned that Russia would respond in kind if nuclear testing resumed
In response to a question about Trump’s comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated an earlier warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said Moscow would resume nuclear testing if others did so first.

“If anyone abandons the moratorium, Russia will act accordingly,” Peskov said in a call with reporters.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions seeking more details. Trump ignored a question from a reporter about his post when he sat face-to-face with Xi in Busan, a meeting that focused on trade issues between the two countries.

When he spoke to reporters later, Trump appeared to confuse testing of missiles carrying a nuclear warhead with testing of warheads.

He added that other countries “all seem to be conducting nuclear tests,” but when it comes to the United States, “we have more nuclear weapons than any other country. We are not testing.”

“I see them testing and I say, ‘Well, if they’re going to test, I guess we should test,’” Trump said as he continued to speak to reporters.

Trump was asked where the tests would be conducted and said: “It will be announced. We have testing sites.”

Pentagon officials did not immediately respond to questions about Trump’s announcement about nuclear missile tests.

Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Ed Markey, who co-chairs the Congressional Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group, said the United States “should not resume” nuclear testing.

“This is a reckless decision that will only make us less safe and lead to a new nuclear arms race,” Markey said in a post on X.

Russia is testing new nuclear-powered weapons

Putin announced this week that Russia has tested a new atomic-powered drone capable of carrying nuclear weapons underwater and a new nuclear-powered cruise missile. Putin has not announced any Russian nuclear weapons tests, which last took place in 1990.

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, stressed that recent Russian tests of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile and the underwater nuclear-powered Poseidon drone had nothing to do with the global ban on testing nuclear warheads.

“Regarding the Burevestnik and Poseidon tests, we hope that President Trump is properly informed about this,” Peskov said. “There is no way it can be interpreted as a nuclear test.”

Trump did not specifically mention the Russian tests in his post, but he did allude to the nuclear stockpiles controlled by both Xi and Putin, saying: “Russia is a distant second, and China is a distant third, but they will do it even within 5 years.”

In 2023, Putin signed a bill revoking Russia’s ratification of the global nuclear test ban, which Moscow said was necessary to put Russia on equal footing with the United States. President Bill Clinton signed the global nuclear test ban, but it was never ratified by the Senate.

Earlier this year, Trump indicated that he wanted to push his Russian and Chinese counterparts in the other direction, saying he wanted to resume nuclear arms control talks with the two countries.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman called on the United States to refrain from conducting nuclear tests.

“China hopes that the United States will seriously fulfill its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and respect its commitment to suspend nuclear testing,” Guo Jiaqun said at a press conference in Beijing.

Despite his announcement appearing to be an escalation, Trump told reporters that he would like to see “denuclearization” and “de-escalation.”

“We’re actually talking to Russia about that,” Trump said, without elaborating.

Arms control advocates are concerned

Darrell Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, was quick to criticize the president’s announcement and said Trump was “misguided and out of touch with reality.”

In social media posts, Kimball said the United States has no reason to resume nuclear explosives testing, and it will take at least 36 months to resume testing at the former test site in Nevada, where the last underground explosions occurred.

“With his foolish announcement of his intention (to resume) nuclear testing, Trump will provoke strong public opposition in Nevada, from all US allies, and could trigger a chain reaction of nuclear testing by US adversaries, torpedoing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Kimball said in a post on the X website.

Japanese survivors of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II condemned Trump’s announcement.

“This law is firmly opposed to all countries seeking to achieve a nuclear-free and peaceful world and cannot be tolerated at all,” said Jiro Hamasumi, secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo, a survivor organization that won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.

Prices reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Konstantin Torobin and Ken Moritsugu in Beijing and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.