President Trump said on Wednesday that he has instructed the Defense Department (DOD) to immediately begin testing U.S. nuclear weapons on an equal basis to China and Russia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe United States has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country,\u201d Trump wrote. \u201cThis 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.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Hill has reached out to the Pentagon for comment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s announcement on TruthSocial came shortly before he was slated to meet face-to-face with Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since 2019 in South Korea on Thursday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump later ignored a question from a reporter about the move while meeting with Xi and the Chinese delegation in South Korea just before reporters were ushered out of the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. halted the explosive testing of nuclear arms in 1992. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Former Trump\u2019s national security advisor, Robert C. O\u2019Brien, encouraged Trump, a presidential candidate, in June last year to test nuclear weapons if he wins the 2024 White House election. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWashington must test new nuclear weapons for reliability and safety in the real world for the first time since 1992\u2014not just by using computer models,\u201d O\u2019Brien wrote<\/u><\/a> in an article for the Foreign Affairs magazine, which was published in June last year. \u201cIf China and Russia continue to refuse to engage in good-faith arms control talks, the United States should also resume production of uranium-235 and plutonium-239, the primary fissile isotopes of nuclear weapons.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Russia claimed it tested its new nuclear-capable cruise missile, known as the\u2002Burevestnik<\/u><\/a>, last week, which purportedly flew 8,700 miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The test was met with international condemnation, including from Trump, who called it \u201cinappropriate\u201d as he is pushing the Kremlin to come to the table and negotiate a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to get the war ended. A war that should have taken one week is now in its soon fourth year,\u201d the president said on Monday. \u201cThat\u2019s what you ought to do, instead of testing missiles.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe test missiles all the time. They\u2019re not playing games with us, and we\u2019re not playing games with them either,\u201d Trump added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin\u2002<\/u><\/a>claimed that Moscow successfully tested<\/u><\/a> a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone. The test was conducted on Tuesday, with Putin claiming the nuclear reactor that powers the Poseidon drone is \u201c100 times smaller\u201d than those on submarines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n