On November 2, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that new tests of the US nuclear weapons system under President Donald Trump will not include nuclear detonation.
This is the first time the Trump administration has clarified the issue after the President posted on social media last week that he had chined the Department of War to begin testing our nuclear weapons on an equal basis.
I think what we are talking about right now is system testing, Mr. Wright said on local television, emphasizing that these are not nuclear explosions but non-nuclear explosions.
Mr. Wright - the head of the agency responsible for the testing - said that the planned tests would include "all other components of a nuclear weapon to ensure they create the correct results and conditions for the nuclear explosion".
The uncertainty about Mr Trump's intentions began just minutes before an important meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea on the morning of October 30 (local time).
At that time, Mr. Trump seemed to imply the preparation to end the decades-long ban on US nuclear weapons testing on the social networking platform Truth Social.
Later in the day, when he returned to Washington, Trump avoided confirming whether he really wanted to resume nuclear explosions or just test launches capable of carrying nuclear warheads, which are more frequent.
Even on October 31, when asked on the Air Force One about whether he would resume nuclear testing, Mr. Trump still answering windily: "You will soon know".
The US military regularly tests missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, but has not conducted any nuclear explosions since 1992. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test ban (CTBT), which the US has signed but not ratified, is still subject to all countries that possess nuclear weapons.
