President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of War (DOW) to resume nuclear weapons testing for the first time in more than 30 years.
Trump told the Pentagon that the U.S. military needs to keep pace with the nuclear testing by adversaries like 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 in a Wednesday post on Truth Social.
“That process will begin immediately.”
The announcement came just hours before Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, where the two leaders discussed trade and regional security.
The decision marks the first break from a nuclear testing moratorium that has been in place since 1992, when President George H.W. Bush halted all U.S. nuclear detonations.
End of a 30-Year Pause
Since the signing of the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963, nuclear detonations in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater have been prohibited.
The United States and other nuclear powers were permitted to continue underground testing, a practice that continued until the early 1990s.
The last confirmed U.S. underground nuclear test occurred in September 1992, when the Bush administration announced a unilateral moratorium on all forms of nuclear weapons testing.
China followed suit in 1996, conducting its final underground test that same year and declaring a similar moratorium.
Trump: “I HATED to Do It, But Had No Choice”
In his post, President Trump framed the decision as a continuation of his administration’s first-term commitment to modernizing and strengthening the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
“The United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country,” Trump wrote.
“This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my First Term in office.
“Because of the tremendous destructive power, I HATED to do it, but had no choice!
“Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.”
The U.S. has abided by the Limited Test Ban Treaty for over six decades.
It remains unclear whether the renewed testing will involve underground detonations, the traditional approach since the 1960s, or focus instead on non-explosive tests of nuclear components and delivery systems.
Given longstanding environmental and health concerns tied to atmospheric or underwater detonations, underground tests are viewed as the most likely path forward.
Escalation Amid Global Nuclear Tensions
The move comes amid renewed nuclear activity by U.S. rivals.
Russia recently tested its Burevestnik cruise missile.
Burevestnik is a nuclear-powered, long-range weapon that Vladimir Putin claims can evade missile defenses and travel indefinitely.
Meanwhile, North Korea announced this week that it had successfully launched a nuclear-capable cruise missile into the sea west of the Korean Peninsula, just hours before Trump’s arrival in Seoul.
North Korea last conducted a confirmed nuclear detonation in September 2017, an underground blast that was detected globally by seismic sensors.
Testing May Be Limited to Subcritical or Delivery Systems
While the Pentagon has not yet confirmed the scope of the new tests, defense analysts suggest the administration could focus on validating nuclear delivery systems or conducting subcritical experiments, which are controlled reactions that do not involve full nuclear detonations.
Such experiments have been used for years to maintain the reliability of the U.S. nuclear arsenal without violating test ban agreements.
Still, the president’s order signals a major strategic shift and a warning to both Moscow and Beijing that the United States intends to match their nuclear advancements, weapon for weapon.
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