Trump claims Pakistan among countries testing nuclear weapons but not disclosing it

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has named Pakistan among countries he claims are “testing nuclear weapons”, raising questions over his recent directive for the United States to resume nuclear testing.

In an interview on CBS News, Trump said, “North Korea has been testing. Pakistan has been testing. But they don’t go and tell you about it.” He also mentioned Russia and China, asserting that they, too, were conducting nuclear tests in secret.

Trump’s remarks follow a social media post in which he instructed the US Department of War to resume testing nuclear weapons “immediately”. Analysts have debated whether he meant the first nuclear detonation in the US since 1992.

“We have more nuclear weapons than any other country,” Trump told the interviewer. “I think we should do something about denuclearisation. And I did actually discuss that with both Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Xi.”

He added that the US possesses enough nuclear firepower to destroy the world multiple times over, highlighting the continued global presence of Russian and Chinese nuclear arsenals.

When asked why the US would need to test its weapons, Trump replied, “Because you have to see how they work. Testing is because Russia announced that they are gonna do a test. If you notice, North Korea is testing constantly, other countries are testing. We are the only country that doesn’t test, I don’t want to be the only country that doesn’t test.”

During the interview, the CBS journalist noted that only North Korea has carried out nuclear detonations in recent years, while Russia and China have not tested since 1990 and 1996, respectively. Trump insisted, however, that Russia and China were testing “but they don’t talk about it”.

He added, “We are an open society. We are different, we talk about it. We have to talk about it. Otherwise, you people are going to report. They don’t have reporters who can be writing about it. We do.”

Trump also defended his claim that the US would be testing to ensure its nuclear arsenal remains functional. “You make nuclear weapons and then you don’t test. How are you gonna do that? How are you gonna know if they work? We have to do that.”

Separately, China’s foreign ministry rejected the allegation. Spokeswoman Mao Ning described China as a “responsible nuclear-weapons state” that adheres to a self-defence nuclear strategy and remains committed to a suspension of nuclear testing.

She urged the US to “take concrete actions to safeguard the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime and maintain global strategic balance and stability”.