US President Donald Trump has directed the US Department of War to resume nuclear weapons testing, saying it should occur “on an equal basis” with China and Russia.
In a post to Truth Social on Thursday morning AEDT, Mr Trump: “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.”
The declaration came less than an hour before Mr Trump was due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, where the two leaders were expected to discuss easing ongoing trade tensions.
Mr Trump’s comments follow his criticism of Vladimir Putin’s announcement that Russia had successfully tested a nuclear‑powered Burevestnik cruise missile, describing it as “not appropriate”.