The order to start tests was given by the US president shortly before a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the South Korean city of Gyeongju.
“I had no other choice,” Trump said, justifying his decision, after finding out that other powers (Russia) had recently tested weapons capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
“The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, along with the modernization of existing weapons systems, during my first term (in the White House),” President Trump said in a post on the Truth Social platform. He also said that currently the United States has the second largest nuclear arsenal in the world and China the third, but they may increase it to corresponding levels in the next five years.
“Because of their terrible, destructive power, I was loathe to do it but I had no choice!” he emphasized.
“Because of the tests by other countries, I have ordered the War Department (as the US Department of Defense has been renamed) to begin testing our nuclear weapons on equal terms. This process will begin immediately,” said Donald Trump.
