Why Trump order nuclear weapons testing to resume for US after over 30 years

President Donald Trump don call on US military leaders to resume testing US nuclear weapons in order to keep pace wit oda countries like Russia and China.

"Bicos oda countries dey test dia programs, I don instruct di Department of War to begin dey test our Nuclear Weapons on equal basis," e write on social media just bifor e meet wit Chinese President Xi Jinping for South Korea.

Di US get more nuclear weapons pass any oda country, Trump tok, wit Russia second and China wey be a "distant third". Dem neva carry out any nuclear weapons testing since 1992.

Dis dey come just days afta Trump accuse Russia for testing one nuclear-powered missile, wey reportedly get unlimited range.

Trump post on Wednesday night confam di "tremendous destructive power" of nuclear weapons but say im "no get choice" but to update and renovate di US arsenal during im first term in office.

E also say China nuclear programme "go dey even within 5 years".

Trump post no include details of how di tests go hapun, but e write say di "process go begin immediately".

E go mark a clear reversal of a long-standing US policy. Di last US nuclear weapons test na for 1992, bifor former Republican President George HW Bush issue one moratorium as di Cold War end.

Trump post bin come just bifor Xi land for South Korea for di first face-to-face meeting between di two since 2019.

E be like say e write di post wen e dey onboard one helicopter, Marine One, on im way to meet Xi for Gimhae International Airport.

Ontop Air Force One afta di two leaders meeting, Trump tok say dem go determine di nuclear test sites later, but repeat am say e dey "appropriate" for di US to match oda countries in testing.

Russia bin announce ova di weekend say dem don successfully test two new weapons wey dey capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Dem include one missile wey di Kremlin say fit penetrate US defence systems, and one underwater drone wey dem call Poseidon, e dey capable of hitting di American west coast and triggering radioactive ocean swells.

However, those tests no involve detonation of nuclear weapons.

According to US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), China don roughly double dia nuclear arsenal in di past five years and dem dey expect to exceed 1,000 weapons by 2030.

Di US nuclear stockpile dey around 5,225 warheads, while Russia get approximately 5,580, di Arms Control Association report.

Trump statement also dey come around 100 days bifor di expiration of di New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New Start) for February 2026 - di last remaining nuclear arms treaty between US and Russia.

Di agreement limit each country to 1,550 warheads on deployed missiles wey dey capable of crossing continents.

Di last time US test nuclear bomb na for 23 September 1992. Di test hapun for one underground facility for di western state of Nevada.

Di project, code named Divider, na di 1,054th nuclear weapons test wey di US go conduct, according to di Los Alamos National Laboratory, wey play ogbonge role in helping develop di world first atomic bomb.

Na US govment still dey operate di Nevada Test Site, 65 miles (105km) north of Las Vegas.

"If e dey necessary, govment fit authorize di site again for nuclear weapons testing," according to di National Museum of Nuclear Science and History, wey be affiliate of di Smithsonian Institution.

Di US first march into di nuclear era wit di Trinity test of di first atomic bomb for July 1945 for di desert at Alamogordo, New Mexico.

E later bicom di only country for di world to use nuclear weapons for warfare afta dem drop two atomic bombs on di Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima for August of di same year during World War Two.