Trump does not rule out the possibility of underground nuclear tests

US President Donald Trump has confirmed that Washington will resume nuclear testing, but did not directly answer the question whether it will include underground nuclear tests, which were common during the Cold War. The US president was quoted by Reuters.

"You'll find out very soon, but we're going to do some testing," Trump said aboard Air Force One as he flew to Palm Beach.

"Other countries are doing it. If they're going to do it, we're going to do it, okay?" the US president continued.

Trump said on October 30 that he had ordered the US military to immediately resume nuclear weapons testing after a 33-year hiatus, likely a message to nuclear-armed China and Russia.

He made this unexpected statement on social media while aboard his Marine One helicopter flying to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea.

It was not immediately clear whether Trump was referring to nuclear explosive tests conducted by the National Nuclear Security Administration or flight tests of missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

During a visit to Malaysia, Pentagon Chief Peter Hegseth says resumption of tests is "a very responsible way" to maintain nuclear deterrence.

Rep. Dinah Titus, a Democrat from Nevada, home to the U.S. nuclear test site, introduced a bill on Friday that would ban the resumption of explosive nuclear testing and block its funding.

She said that resuming such tests would encourage Russia and China to do the same and "put Nevadans back in the crosshairs of toxic radiation and environmental destruction.".

• October 22 Russia conducted "nuclear exercises" and launched, in particular, a Yars missile at a test site on the border with the United States.
• October 30 Trump instructed the Pentagon to immediately begin testing US nuclear weapons.