2LT International News

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida: U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said over the weekend that new tests of America’s nuclear weapons system, ordered by President Donald Trump, will not involve actual nuclear explosions.

His comments were the first clear statement from the administration after Trump wrote on social media that he had “instructed the Department of War to start testing our Nuclear Weapons on an equal basis.”

In an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Briefing,” Wright said the tests planned are “system tests,” not explosive nuclear tests. “These are what we call noncritical explosions,” he explained — tests of all other parts of a nuclear weapon to ensure they work properly and are ready to trigger a nuclear blast if needed.

Confusion began after Trump posted the message shortly before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, and many thought he was signaling a return to underground nuclear detonations — something the U.S. stopped in 1992. Only North Korea has carried out such tests in recent decades.

Later that day, while flying home, Trump would not clarify whether he meant explosive tests or routine testing of delivery systems like missiles. He stayed vague again when reporters asked if he planned to resume underground detonations: “You’ll find out very soon,” he said aboard Air Force One on October 31.

The U.S. frequently tests missiles that can carry nuclear warheads, but it has followed a ban on nuclear detonations since the early 1990s. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty — which the U.S. signed but never ratified — has still been observed by all nuclear-armed countries except North Korea.

Trump’s announcement came after Russia said it had tested a nuclear-powered underwater drone and a new nuclear-powered cruise missile. Moscow insisted those tests did not violate the ban on nuclear explosions. It warned, however, that if the U.S. resumes explosive testing, Russia will do the same — a move that could revive Cold War-style tensions.