SEOUL, South Korea (BN24) — President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. military to resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time in more than three decades, a move that marks a sharp shift in long-standing American defense policy and raises global concerns about a new nuclear arms race.
In a social media post late Wednesday, just before his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, Trump announced that he had instructed the Department of War to begin testing nuclear weapons “on an equal basis” with Russia and China.
“Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” Trump wrote. He added that the process would “begin immediately.”
The United States, which has not conducted a nuclear weapons test since 1992, possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, followed by Russia and then China, which Trump called a “distant third.” The announcement came only days after Trump condemned Russia for testing a nuclear-powered missile reportedly capable of unlimited range.
Trump acknowledged the “tremendous destructive power” of nuclear arms but said he had “no choice” but to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal during his first term to ensure military parity with global rivals. “China’s nuclear program will be even within five years,” Trump warned, suggesting an urgent need to strengthen deterrence.
The timing of the announcement—issued as Trump was en route aboard Marine One to meet Xi at Gimhae International Airport—underscored the geopolitical stakes. After their meeting, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the locations of upcoming U.S. nuclear tests had not yet been determined but insisted such measures were “appropriate” to match other nations’ testing efforts.
The United States last tested a nuclear bomb on September 23, 1992, at an underground site in Nevada. That experiment, known as “Divider,” marked the country’s 1,054th nuclear weapons test. Former President George H.W. Bush issued a moratorium on testing later that year as the Cold War came to a close.
Russia announced over the weekend that it had successfully tested two new delivery systems capable of carrying nuclear warheads, including a missile designed to evade U.S. defenses and an underwater drone known as Poseidon. While neither test involved an actual nuclear detonation, the developments heightened global tensions.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, China has nearly doubled its nuclear arsenal over the past five years and could surpass 1,000 warheads by 2030. The U.S. currently maintains an estimated 5,225 warheads, while Russia’s stockpile sits at roughly 5,580, according to the Arms Control Association.
Trump’s directive also comes roughly 100 days before the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the U.S. and Russia is set to expire in February 2026. The treaty, the last remaining nuclear arms control agreement between the two nations, caps each side at 1,550 deployed warheads capable of crossing continents.
The Nevada Test Site, located about 65 miles north of Las Vegas, remains operational and could be reactivated if authorized, according to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History.
The U.S. first entered the nuclear age with the Trinity test in July 1945 in Alamogordo, New Mexico, before dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki later that year—actions that ended World War II but ushered in the nuclear era.
