US President Donald Trump stated on Sunday that countries such as Russia and China have carried out underground tests of nuclear weapons that are unknown to the public and that the United States would do the same.
Asked directly in an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” whether he planned for the United States to detonate a nuclear weapon for the first time in more than three decades, Trump said: “I’m saying we’re going to test nuclear weapons like other countries do, yes.”
There are “Russian tests, Chinese tests, but they don’t talk about that,” he said in response to another question about his surprise order Thursday for the United States to carry out nuclear tests.
But Chinese diplomatic spokesperson Mao Ning denied Trump’s claim on Monday.
China, as expected, denies the accusation.
Trump explained that “it is not known for sure where the tests are being done… They are done deep underground, where people do not know exactly what is happening.”
“I don’t want to be the only country that doesn’t test,” he said, adding North Korea and Pakistan to the list of nations reportedly testing their arsenals.
Response to the nuclear threat from China, Pakistan, North Korea and Russia
The Republican leader announced the resumption of testing on social media Thursday, minutes before entering a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea.
Previously, Russia announced that it had tested a new nuclear-powered cruise missile, the Burevestnik, and an underwater drone with nuclear propulsion and capability.
Trump’s Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Sunday downplayed that the United States was planning to detonate a nuclear explosion.
“I think the tests we’re talking about now are systems tests. These are not nuclear explosions“Wright declared in an interview with Fox News.
“These are what we call ‘non-critical explosions,’ so you’re testing all the other parts of a nuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the proper geometry and prepare for the nuclear explosion,” he said.
In 1996, the United States signed a treaty banning nuclear tests for military or civil purposes.
