Overview
- Trump issued the order on Truth Social just before meeting China’s Xi Jinping in South Korea, then said test sites would be decided later and called the move appropriate.
- U.S. officials have not clarified whether the plan involves underground nuclear explosions or non-explosive testing of delivery systems.
- Russia highlighted recent trials of nuclear‑capable systems but said they were not nuclear blasts and warned it would respond if the moratorium is broken, while China urged adherence to test‑ban norms.
- Experts and agencies note the United States would likely need 24 to 36 months to conduct an underground explosive test, and the CTBTO warned any such test would be destabilizing.
- The United States has not carried out a nuclear detonation since 1992, and Trump’s claim that the U.S. has the largest arsenal conflicts with public estimates showing Russia holds slightly more warheads.