Trump orders US nuclear testing

30 YEAR GAP ENDS

- REUTERS

President Donald Trump ordered the US military Thursday to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons after a gap of 33 years, minutes before beginning a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Trump made the surprise announcement on Truth Social while he was aboard his Marine One helicopter flying to meet Xi for a trade-negotiating session in Busan, South Korea. He said he was instructing the Pentagon to test the US nuclear arsenal on an “equal basis” with other nuclear powers.

“Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately,” Trump posted.

“Russia is second, and China isa distant third, but will be even within 5 years.”

‘Trump appeared to be sending a message to both Xi, who has more than doubled China’s nuclear warhead arsenal over the past five years, and to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has tested two new nuclear-powered weapons over recent days.