President Donald Trump called on US military leaders to resume testing US nuclear weapons in order to keep pace with other countries such as Russia and China.
Because of other countries testing programs, I have instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis, he wrote on social media just before meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea.
The US has more nuclear weapons than any other country, Trump said, with Russia second and China a distant third. It has not conducted nuclear weapons testing since 1992.
It comes just days after Trump denounced Russia for testing a nuclear-powered missile, which reportedly has an unlimited range.
Trump's post acknowledges the tremendous destructive power of nuclear weapons, but said he had no choice but to update and renovate the US arsenal during his first term in office.
He also noted that China's nuclear programme would be a concern within five years.
Although details on the testing schedule are not included, Trump stated that the process will begin immediately. This marks a significant reversal of a long-standing US policy established post-Cold War. The last US nuclear test occurred on September 23, 1992, at a Nevada facility.
The project, codenamed Divider, was the 1,054th nuclear weapons test conducted by the US, according to the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The Nevada Test Site is still operated, with the potential for testing to be reauthorized if necessary.
