Washington DC [US], December 12 : US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) stated that he has held discussions with China and Russia on the denuclearisation of weapons, expressing hopes that all sides could work toward reducing nuclear arsenals.
Speaking to reporters at the White House after signing an Executive Order aimed at preventing a "patchwork" of state-level artificial intelligence regulations, Trump said that the "denuclearisation of weapons" is something all these countries, which possess the highest amount of nuclear warheads, "would want to do".
"One of the things I talked to China about is the denuclearisation of weapons. We'd like to see if we could stop that. I'm talking about nuclear weapons. I've spoken to China about that. I've spoken to Russia about that. And I think it would be something that we would want to do, and they would like to do, and I think Russia would like to do," Trump said.
In October, Trump said while denuclearisation would be a "tremendous thing", restarting American nuclear testing after more than three decades was "appropriate, citing Russia's trials of advanced nuclear-capable systems, including the Poseidon underwater drone, in what marks a significant escalation between the two nuclear powers.
"They seem to all be nuclear testing," Trump told reporters, 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. Trump further noted that preparations were already in place for testing.
"We have test sites. It'll be announced," Trump said, without specifying the timing or location.
Last Month, the United States successfully concluded a series of critical stockpile flight tests of its B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb, carried by the stealth F-35A fighter jet, according to the US Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories.
According to the lab's reports, the test was conducted from August 19 to August 21 at the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada, with support from Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
Tests successfully released inert B61-12 units from the F-35A, confirming the end-to-end performance of the aircraft, aircrew, and weapon under operational conditions.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the US reaffirmed that "complete denuclearisation" of North Korea remains a key policy shared with South Korea, following questions raised by the release of the latest US National Security Strategy (NSS), which omitted explicit references to the North, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Acting US Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim clarified in a meeting with South Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, emphasising that the Trump administration continues to prioritise denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula.
"President Trump and President Lee (Jae Myung) reiterated their commitment to the complete denuclearisation of North Korea in the joint fact sheet. That is our Korea policy right now," Kim told reporters, as quoted by the Yonhap News Agency.
The new NSS, released earlier this month, does not specifically mention North Korea or reaffirm the US commitment to its denuclearisation, unlike previous versions in 2017 and 2022, prompting concerns that the issue may receive less emphasis in US policy documents.
South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the NSS reflects a broader approach, focusing less on specific conflicts. It noted that the US has consistently reaffirmed its stance on denuclearisation in key statements and summit agreements, according to Yonhap News Agency.
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