Trump orders Pentagon to start testing nuclear weapons 'on an equal basis' with other countries

Trump said the U.S., which voluntarily halted nuclear explosive testing in 1992, will test "on an equal basis" with other countries.

GYEONGJU, South Korea — President Donald Trump said Wednesday he had instructed the Defense Department to “immediately” start testing nuclear weapons "on an equal basis" with other nations.

“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump said on Truth Social shortly before his highly anticipated meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea. “That process will begin immediately.”

The last confirmed nuclear test by the United States was in 1992, when President George H.W. Bush announced a moratorium on underground nuclear testing. The United States has the ability to resume tests at a federal site in Nevada.

China’s last known testing of a nuclear weapon was in 1996, and Russia’s recent weapons testing did not detonate a nuclear weapon, just the delivery technology.

Trump, who has lately sharpened his rhetoric about U.S. military capabilities, said the decision to resume testing was about reaching parity with Moscow and Beijing.