Overview
- The White House has not specified whether the directive involves underground nuclear detonations or tests of delivery systems, with reporting and experts suggesting Trump may be referring to the latter.
- In Busan, Trump and Xi held a roughly 100‑minute meeting that yielded a one‑year pause on China’s rare‑earth export controls, a 10‑point cut to certain U.S. tariffs to 47 percent, and pledges of large Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans.
- Beijing urged Washington to honor global test‑ban commitments, while the Kremlin said its recent Burevestnik and Poseidon trials were not nuclear tests and signaled openness to arms‑control talks.
- Domestic opposition surfaced immediately as Rep. Dina Titus vowed legislation to block testing, with experts warning a restart could spur escalation as the New START treaty’s 2026 expiry approaches.
- Trump’s move followed Russia’s touted advanced‑weapons trials and North Korea’s sea‑to‑sea cruise missile launches earlier in the week, heightening regional security concerns around the APEC meetings in South Korea.