Trump appears to suggest the US will resume testing nuclear weapons for first time in 30 years

News

Trump appears to suggest the US will resume testing nuclear weapons for first time in 30 years

2025-10-31 04:05 Last Updated At：04:10

BUSAN, South Korea (AP) — President Donald Trump appeared to suggest the U.S. will resume testing nuclear weapons for the first time in three decades, saying it would be on an “equal basis” with Russia and China.

The Kremlin pointed out that a global ban on nuclear tests has remained in place, but warned that if any country resumes nuclear testing, Russia would follow suit.

There was no indication the U.S. would start detonating warheads, but Trump offered few details about what seemed to be a significant shift in U.S. policy.

He made the announcement on social media minutes before he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday in South Korea to discuss trade. He offered little clarity when he spoke to reporters later aboard Air Force One as he flew back to Washington.

The U.S. military already regularly tests its missiles that are capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, but it has not detonated the weapons since 1992. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which the U.S. signed but did not ratify, has been observed since its adoption by all countries possessing nuclear weapons, North Korea being the only exception.

Trump suggested, however, that changes were necessary because other countries were testing weapons. It was unclear what he was referring to, but it evoked Cold War-era escalations.

“Because of other countries’ testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis,” he said in a post on his Truth Social site. “That process will begin immediately.”

Asked about Trump's comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reaffirmed an earlier warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said Moscow would resume nuclear tests if others do so first.

“If someone abandons the moratorium, Russia will act accordingly,” Peskov said in a call with reporters.

The White House did not immediately respond to questions seeking more details.

When Trump spoke to reporters later, he appeared to be conflating the testing of missiles that deliver a nuclear warhead with the testing of the warheads.

Other countries, he said, “seem to all be nuclear testing,” but when it comes to the U.S., “We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. We don’t do testing.”

“I see them testing and I say, well, if they’re going to test, I guess we have to test,” Trump said as he continued speaking to reporters.

Trump was asked where the tests would occur and he said, “It’ll be announced. We have test sites.”

Pentagon officials didn’t immediately respond to questions about the announcement from Trump on the nuclear missile tests.

Vice Admiral Richard Correll, Trump's nominee to lead the military command in charge of the nation’s nuclear arsenal, was pressed by U.S. senators at his confirmation hearing Thursday to try to interpret the president's comments.

“I wouldn’t presume that the president's words meant nuclear testing,” Correll said.

“Well, that’s what he said,” Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said.

Correll pointed out that neither China nor Russia has conducted a nuclear explosive test, but then said, “I’m not reading anything into it or reading anything out of it.”

Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine later questioned whether Trump might have meant the testing of the weapons delivery systems, such as missiles, not the weapons themselves.

“I don’t have insight into the president’s intent,” Correll said. “I agree that that could be an interpretation.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday assailed Trump's announcement, saying in a statement that “current nuclear risks are already alarmingly high.”

“We must never forget the disastrous legacy of over 2,000 nuclear weapons tests carried out over the last 80 years,” Guterres said, according to his deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haqq.

Putin this week announced that Russia tested a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone and a new nuclear-powered cruise missile. Putin did not announce any tests of Russia's nuclear weapons, however, which last occurred in 1990.

Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, emphasized that Russia’s recent tests of the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile and the Poseidon nuclear-powered underwater drone had nothing to do with the global ban on testing nuclear warheads.

“Regarding the tests of the Burevestnik and the Poseidon, we hope that President Trump was correctly informed about it,” Peskov said. “There is no way it can be interpreted as nuclear testing.”

Trump did not specifically mention the Russian tests in his post, but alluded to the nuclear stockpiles controlled by both Xi and Putin, saying, “Russia is second, and China is a distant third, but will be even within 5 years.”

Putin in 2023 signed a bill revoking Russia’s ratification of a global nuclear test ban, which Moscow said was needed to put Russia on par with the U.S. The global test ban was signed by President Bill Clinton but never ratified by the Senate.

Earlier this year, Trump signaled he wanted to push his Russian and Chinese counterparts in the other direction, saying he wanted to resume nuclear arms control talks with both countries.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson called on the U.S. to refrain from carrying out nuclear tests.

“China hopes the U.S. will earnestly fulfill its obligations under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and honor its commitment to suspend nuclear testing,” Guo Jiakun said at a briefing in Beijing.

Despite his announcement that sounded like an escalation, Trump told reporters that he would like to see a “denuclearization” and “de-escalation.”

“We are actually talking to Russia about that,” Trump said, though he did not elaborate.

Daryl Kimball, the executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Association, quickly criticized the president's announcement and said Trump was “misinformed and out of touch.”

Kimball, in social media posts, said the U.S. has no reason to resume nuclear explosive testing and it would take at least 36 months to resume testing at the former test site in Nevada, where the last detonations occurred underground.

Price reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Konstantin Toropin in Washington, Ken Moritsugu in Beijing, Farnoush Amiri in New York and Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Danish official says there's a 'fundamental disagreement' with Trump over Greenland

WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Danish official said Wednesday that a “fundamental disagreement” over Greenland remains with President Donald Trump after holding highly anticipated White House talks with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The two sides, however, agreed to create a working group to discuss ways to work through differences as Trump continues to call for a U.S. takeover of the semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.

“The group, in our view, should focus on how to address the American security concerns, while at the same time respecting the red lines of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told reporters after joining Greenland’s foreign minister, Vivian Motzfeldt, for the talks. He added that it remains "clear that the president has this wish of conquering over Greenland.”

Trump is trying to make the case that NATO should help the U.S. acquire the world's largest island and says anything less than it being under American control is unacceptable.

Denmark, meanwhile, announced plans to boost the country's military presence in the Arctic and North Atlantic as Trump tries to justify his calls for a U.S. takeover of the vast territory by repeatedly claiming that China and Russia have their designs on Greenland, which holds vast untapped reserves of critical minerals.

The president, who did not take part in Wednesday’s meeting, told reporters he remained committed to acquiring the territory.

“We need Greenland for national security,” Trump said. “We’ll see how it all works out. I think something will work out.”

Trump named Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as a special envoy to Greenland last month. Landry did not attend Wednesday's meeting, but was scheduled to travel to Washington on Thursday and Friday for meetings that include the topic of Greenland, his spokesperson said.

Landry, following Trump's latest comments, posted on X that Trump was “absolutely right” about acquiring Greenland and the territory "is a critical component of our nation’s national security portfolio.”

Before the meeting, Trump took to social media to make the case that “NATO should be leading the way" for the U.S. to acquire the territory. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has sought to keep an arms-length away from the dispute between the most important power and the other members of the 32-country alliance unnerved by the aggressive tack Trump has taken toward Denmark.

Both Løkke Rasmussen and Motzfeldt offered measured hope that the talks were beginning a conversation that would lead to Trump dropping his demand and create a path for tighter cooperation with the U.S.

"We have shown where our limits are and from there, I think that it will be very good to look forward,” Motzfeldt said.

In Copenhagen, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced a stepped-up military presence in the Arctic “in close cooperation with our allies," a necessity in a security environment in which “no one can predict what will happen tomorrow.”

Several of the country's allies, including Germany, France, Norway and Sweden, announced they were arriving in Greenland along with Danish personnel to take part in joint exercises or map out further military cooperation in the Arctic.

NATO is also looking at how members can collectively bolster the alliance's presence in the Arctic, said a NATO official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Greenland is strategically important because, as climate change causes the ice to melt, it opens up the possibility of shorter trade routes to Asia. That also could make it easier to extract and transport untapped deposits of critical minerals which are needed for computers and phones.

Trump says Greenland is also “vital” to the United States' Golden Dome missile defense program. He also has said Russia and China pose a threat in the region.

But experts and Greenlanders question that claim, and it has become a hot topic on the snow-covered main street in Greenland’s capital, where international journalists and camera crews have descended as Trump continues his takeover talk.

In interviews, Greenlanders said the outcome of the Washington talks didn't exactly evince confidence that Trump can be persuaded.

“Trump is unpredictable,” said Geng Lastein, who immigrated to Greenland 18 years ago from the Philippines.

Maya Martinsen, 21, said she doesn't buy Trump's arguments that Greenland needs to be controlled by the U.S. for the sake maintaining a security edge in Arctic over China and Russia. Instead, Martinsen said, Trump is after the plentiful “oils and minerals that we have that are untouched.”

Greenland “has beautiful nature and lovely people," Martinsen added. "It’s just home to me. I think the Americans just see some kind of business trade.”

Denmark has said the U.S., which already has a military presence, can boost its bases on Greenland. The U.S. is party to a 1951 treaty that gives it broad rights to set up military bases there with the consent of Denmark and Greenland.

Løkke Rasmussen and Motzfeldt also met with a bipartisan group senators from the Arctic Caucus. The senators said they were concerned Trump's push to acquire Greenland could upend NATO and play into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who has introduced legislation to try to block any U.S. action in Greenland, said it was “stunning” to her that they were even discussing the matter. “We are operating in times where we are having conversations about things that we never even thought possible,” Murkowski said.

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said it is “nonsense” to say that the U.S. needs to control Greenland to protect national security. The officials were “very open to additional national security assets in Greenland in order to meet whatever risks there are.”

A bipartisan delegation of U.S. lawmakers plans to show their solidarity by traveling to Copenhagen this week.

Burrows reported from Nuuk, Greenland and Ciobanu from Warsaw, Poland. Associated Press writers Stefanie Dazio and Geir Moulson in Berlin, Mary Clare Jalonick, Lisa Mascaro, Aamer Madhani and Will Weissert in Washington, Sara Cline and Jack Brook in Baton Rouge, La., and Catherine Gaschka in Paris contributed to this report.

Trump appears to suggest the US will resume testing nuclear weapons for first time in 30 years

News

Trump appears to suggest the US will resume testing nuclear weapons for first time in 30 years

Next Article

Danish official says there's a 'fundamental disagreement' with Trump over Greenland

Some personnel at key US base in Qatar advised to evacuate as Iran official brings up earlier attack

New DHS rule aims to shorten visa wait times abroad for religious workers serving US congregations

Colorado appeals panel skeptical of sentencing for former county clerk who breached election systems

Samsung Epis Holdings Delivers Business Updates at the 44th J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference

In his own words: Stephen Miller’s arguments for White House actions in US cities and abroad

Actor Timothy Busfield ordered held without bond in New Mexico child sex abuse case

Photos show rescue work after train derailment in Thailand