Trump Announces U.S. Resumption of Nuclear Testing Amid Global Tensions

Friday, 31 October 2025 12:49 PM EDT

President Donald Trump reaffirmed on Friday that the U.S. would resume nuclear testing, declining to specify whether it would include traditional underground tests common during the Cold War. “You’ll find out very soon, but we’re going to do some testing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled to Palm Beach, Florida, when asked about underground nuclear tests. “Other countries do it. If they’re doing to do it, we’re going to do it, OK?”

Trump had previously ordered the U.S. military to restart nuclear weapon testing after a 33-year halt, a move interpreted as a signal to rivals China and Russia. The announcement was made on Truth Social while Trump was aboard his Marine One helicopter en route to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for trade negotiations in Busan, South Korea.

It remains unclear whether the directive pertains to nuclear-explosive testing, managed by the National Nuclear Security Administration, or flight tests of nuclear-capable missiles. No nuclear power—except North Korea in 2017—has conducted explosive testing in over 25 years.