Donald Trump Says Pakistan Testing Nuclear Weapons, Urges US to Resume Tests: Report

In a strong statement on global nuclear activities, US President Donald Trump claimed that Pakistan is among several countries actively testing nuclear weapons. His comments have reignited debate about whether the United States should restart its own nuclear testing program after more than three decades.

Trump Justifies Call for Nuclear Testing

Trump emphasized that while nations such as Russia, China, North Korea, and Pakistan continue to conduct nuclear tests, the United States has refrained from doing so for years. He said the time had come for the US to follow suit.

"Russia's testing and China's testing, but they don't talk about it. We're an open society. We're different. We talk about it. We have to talk about it because otherwise you people are going to report. They don't have reporters that are going to be writing about it," Trump said in an interview with CBS News.

"We're going to test because they test and others test. And certainly North Korea's been testing. Pakistan's been testing," he added.

Trump asserted that the US does not "necessarily know" where these powerful nations conduct their tests but maintained that the evidence of underground activity exists.

"They test way under underground where people don't know exactly what's happening with the test. You feel a little bit of a vibration. They test and we don't test. We have to test," Trump remarked.

Cites Russia, China and North Korea as Ongoing Testers

Trump's remarks came in response to questions about his administration's consideration of resuming nuclear detonations, following Russia's reported trials of advanced nuclear-capable systems, including the Poseidon underwater drone.

"You have to see how they work. The reason I'm saying testing is because Russia announced that they were going to be doing a test. If you notice, North Korea is testing constantly. Other countries are testing. We're the only country that doesn't test. And I don't want to be the only country that doesn't test," Trump said.

He also asserted that the US holds a significant nuclear advantage over other nations. "We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times," Trump declared. "Russia has a lot of nuclear weapons, and China will have a lot. They have some. They have quite a bit."

Trump mentioned that he had previously discussed denuclearisation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping but emphasized the need for preparedness amid global nuclear advancements.

US Energy Secretary Clarifies Testing Plans

Following Trump's comments, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright clarified that the proposed testing would not involve nuclear explosions at this stage. This was the first official clarification from the Trump administration after the president had earlier said he had "instructed the Department of War to start testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis."

"I think the tests we're talking about right now are system tests. These are not nuclear explosions. These are what we call non-critical explosions," Wright explained in an interview with Fox News.

He added that the tests would involve "all the other parts of a nuclear weapon to make sure they deliver the appropriate geometry and set up the nuclear explosion."

According to Wright, the upcoming system tests would be conducted on newer systems to ensure that replacement nuclear weapons are more efficient and reliable than previous ones.

Global Reactions Expected

Trump's statements are likely to stir diplomatic reactions, particularly from nuclear-armed nations. His assertion that Pakistan and other countries are conducting tests could draw scrutiny from international watchdogs monitoring nuclear activities. The potential US return to testing could also have major implications for global arms control agreements.