President Trump ends 30-year moratorium, orders US nuclear tests

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time since 1992, in a move needed to keep pace with rival powers Russia and China.

The directive came just before he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.

In a social media post, Trump said, “In light of the scrutiny of other countries’ programs, I have directed the Department of War to begin testing our own nuclear weapons on a par with the rest of the world.” He stressed that the United States currently has the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, followed by Russia in second place, with China “a close third.”

The president acknowledged the “tremendous destructive power” of nuclear weapons but argued that the U.S. arsenal must be modernized and modernized to maintain strategic parity. He also warned that China’s nuclear program could rival the United States’ within five years.