File photo of a U.S. LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in a silo approximately 90 miles from Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota.
Universal History Archive | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
US President Donald Trump on Thursday directed the Pentagon to resume nuclear weapons testing “on an equal basis,” citing other countries’ nuclear testing programs.
President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea that the decision “has to do with other countries,” without mentioning any specific countries.
“They all look like nuclear tests. We have more nuclear weapons than anyone else. We haven’t tested them… But since other countries are testing them, I think it’s appropriate for us to do them too,” he said, adding that details of the planned tests would be announced later.
Before his meeting with Xi, President Trump wrote on Truth Social: “As other countries carry out testing programs, I have directed the Department of the Army to begin testing nuclear weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately.”
It was not immediately clear what President Trump meant by “foundations of equality.” The Department of Defense was renamed the Department of the Army on September 5 under executive order, but Congress has not approved the change.
The announcement followed reports that Russia successfully tested a Poseidon nuclear super torpedo on Wednesday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying, “For the first time, we not only succeeded in launching with a launch engine from a carrier-based submarine, but also successfully launched a nuclear-powered unit with this device after a certain period of time.”
The Russian government also tested a new Burevestnik nuclear cruise missile on October 21st, and conducted a nuclear firing drill the following day.
The United States has not conducted a live nuclear weapons test since then-President George H.W. Bush imposed a unilateral moratorium on nuclear testing in 1992.
In 1996, then-President Bill Clinton signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
President Trump also claimed in a post on Truth Social that the United States has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, adding that Russia and China will also match their nuclear arsenals within five years, a statement contradicted by independent data.
Russia has the largest number of nuclear weapons in the world, according to estimates by the Arms Control Association, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, and the Federation of American Scientists.
According to the Federation of American Scientists, Russia is estimated to have 5,459 nuclear weapons in 2025, compared to 5,177 for the United States and 600 for China. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1945 by atomic scientists after World War II to advocate for international oversight of nuclear energy.
