Washington DC [US], November 3 (ANI): US President Donald Trump has revealed that Pakistan is among several countries actively testing nuclear weapons, citing this as part of a broader global trend that, according to him, justifies the United States’ decision to resume its own nuclear tests.
In an interview on CBS News’ 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump stated that nations such as Russia, China, North Korea, and Pakistan have all conducted nuclear tests, while the US remains the only country refraining from doing so.
“Russia’s testing and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it. We’re an open society. We talk about it because otherwise, you people are going to report it. They don’t have reporters who are going to write about it,” Trump said.
“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 made these remarks while addressing questions about his decision to resume “detonating nuclear weapons” after more than 30 years, following Russia’s recent 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,” he said.
The president emphasized that the US would resume nuclear weapons testing “like other countries do,” underscoring the need to maintain technological parity and readiness.
Trump also claimed that the US holds “more nuclear weapons than any other country” and mentioned that he had discussed denuclearisation with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times,” Trump asserted. “Russia has a lot of nuclear weapons, and China will have a lot. They already have quite a bit.”
Last Thursday, Trump announced the immediate resumption of nuclear weapons testing, describing it as a necessary response to Russia’s renewed trials of advanced nuclear-capable systems—a move marking a major escalation between the two nuclear powers.
Before boarding Air Force One, Trump told reporters that while denuclearisation would be a “tremendous thing,” restarting American nuclear testing after more than three decades was “appropriate.”
“They seem to all be nuclear testing,” he said, referring to Russia and China. “We have more nuclear weapons than anybody. We don’t do testing… but with others doing testing, I think it’s appropriate that we do also.”
He added that preparations for testing were already underway, though he did not specify the timing or location. When asked whether renewed testing could heighten global instability, Trump responded, “I think we have it pretty well locked up.”
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law terminating a long-defunct plutonium disposal agreement with the US, originally designed to limit the production of nuclear weapons-grade material. The 2000 pact had required both nations to dispose of 34 tonnes of weapons-grade plutonium no longer needed for military purposes. (ANI)
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