The New York Times and Associated Press reported that U.S. President Trump had previously announced the resumption of nuclear testing. On November 2 local time, U.S. Energy Secretary Wen said that the nuclear tests ordered by Trump would not involve nuclear explosions, but rather test "other components" of nuclear weapons.

On the same day, Wen said in a news program: "I think the tests we are currently discussing belong to system testing. These are not nuclear explosions, but what we call 'subcritical explosions'."

He pointed out that such tests involve "all other components of nuclear weapons," with the aim of ensuring these components can achieve the appropriate structural form and successfully trigger a nuclear explosion.

"I want to emphasize again, none of these tests will involve nuclear explosions. We are just developing precise systems to ensure that the new replacement nuclear weapons perform better than before," Wen added.

He also mentioned that the public in areas such as Nevada, where nuclear test sites are located, need not worry about seeing mushroom clouds.

American nuclear tests are managed by the Department of Energy, and the key agency responsible for managing U.S. nuclear weapons storage, the National Nuclear Security Administration, is also under the Department of Energy.

Typically, nuclear tests refer to "critical nuclear tests" of fission or thermonuclear weapons themselves, i.e., the nuclear device (usually the warhead or combat unit of a nuclear weapon) actually generates a fission chain reaction or a thermonuclear fusion reaction, which is a true "nuclear explosion" in the conventional sense.

Currently, the five UN Security Council permanent members most widely recognized as having nuclear weapons have all suspended critical tests after their last test in the 1990s. In contrast, countries such as the United States have continued to conduct "subcritical" tests that do not involve full nuclear reactions, although they cannot be compared to the former, they can still obtain some useful data.

On November 2 local time, Wen stated in the program that the nuclear tests ordered by Trump would not involve nuclear explosions. Associated Press

On October 30 local time, U.S. President Trump announced on social media that he had ordered the military to immediately resume nuclear tests. He said he had no choice but to do so, "because other countries are conducting nuclear tests, I have instructed the Pentagon to test our nuclear weapons on an equal basis, and this process will start immediately."

Trump's remarks caused public outrage, especially in the United States, where there was significant controversy. Nuclear experts openly stated that Trump's goals were unrealistic, as the equipment at the U.S. nuclear test sites has long been aged and damaged, making it impossible to restart nuclear tests in the short term. Industry insiders also worried that this move could stimulate a global arms race.

The last U.S. nuclear test was conducted in 1992, 33 years ago, and most nuclear-armed countries stopped nuclear testing in the 1990s. The last Soviet nuclear test was conducted in 1990, and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia did not conduct any further nuclear tests. China conducted its last nuclear test in 1996.

According to United Nations statistics, from the first atomic bomb explosion in 1945 to the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in 1996, a total of more than 2,000 nuclear tests were conducted worldwide. Among them, the United States conducted 1,032 nuclear tests, and the Soviet Union conducted 715 nuclear tests. After 1996, India, Pakistan, and North Korea conducted a total of 10 nuclear tests.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty prohibits all signatories from conducting nuclear explosions anywhere. The United States signed the treaty in 1996, but has not yet ratified it. Russia signed the treaty in 1996 and ratified it in 2000, but Russian President Putin officially withdrew Russia's ratification of the treaty in 2023, bringing Russia and the United States into alignment.

On October 30, Gao Jiakun, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, presided over a regular press conference. He responded that China hopes the United States will genuinely abide by the obligations of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the commitment to suspend nuclear tests, and take concrete actions to maintain the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation system, as well as global strategic balance and stability.

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