U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday directed the Pentagon to begin resuming nuclear weapons testing, ending a voluntary U.S. suspension placed on explosive tests that has been in place since 1992.
The move, according to White House sources, is to ensure the United States can “match” advances by Russia and China, and its announcement — which came directly from the president's social media platforms — came hours before Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In the announcement, Trump urged immediate action by the Defense Department.
The decision marks a sharp break with decades of U.S. policy that suspended full-yield nuclear tests after the end of the Cold War.
Administration officials said the move responds to what they describe as rapid modernisation of foreign arsenals and recent Russian tests of advanced nuclear-capable systems.
Arms-control experts have warned that resuming explosive testing would undermine global non-proliferation norms, risk igniting a new arms race, and prompt strong diplomatic backlash from U.S. allies and rivals alike.
Global reaction was immediate, with Beijing looking into the matter and lawmakers from other nations calling for urgent consultations and legal review of the authority and implications of resuming such tests.
Meanwhile, Pentagon officials have begun preparatory legal and technical assessments, but have no timeline for any actual blast.
