Donald Trump orders US military to resume nuclear weapons testing

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he has ordered the military to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing after a gap of more than 30 years.

He made the statement on his Truth Social platform, just before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping and days after denouncing Russia for testing a nuclear-powered missile.

"Because of other countries testing programmes, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis. That process will begin immediately," he wrote.

The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country, Trump said, with Russia second and China a "distant third", adding that it would “ catch up within four or five years”.

There was no indication that the US will start detonating warheads, with the president offering few details about what appears to be a major shifts in Washington’s policy.

Its military already regularly tests missiles that are capable of delivering a nuclear warhead, but it has not detonated the weapons since 1992.

Moscow on Thursday said all countries were developing their defence systems and that its latest tests were “not nuclear”.

In recent days, it announced that it had successfully tested two new weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

The Kremlin warned that it would “act accordingly” if the US breaks the Cold War-era moratorium on nuclear weapons’ testing.

China said it hoped the US would fulfil its obligations under the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and continue to suspend nuclear testing.

The CTBT, which Washington signed but did not ratify, has been observed by all countries with nuclear weapons since its adoption.

North Korea is the only exception, conducting its last nuclear test in 2017.