No Nuclear Explosions During Nuclear Tests: Official

The Trump administration's new round of nuclear testing won't involve actual nuclear explosions, Energy Secretary Chris Wright clarified Sunday. Instead, the tests will focus on "the other parts of a nuclear weapon" to verify their reliability, Wright explained on Fox News, according to the New York Times. His remarks come days after President Trump said he was directing the Pentagon to ramp up nuclear testing "on an equal basis" with other countries—a move that sparked concerns about a return to Cold War-era brinkmanship. Wright sought to reassure Americans, especially those in Nevada—home to a vast nuclear test site—that they won't be seeing mushroom clouds.

"These are not nuclear explosions," he said. "These are what we call noncritical explosions." He referred to them as "system tests," the AP reports. The last time the US conducted an explosive nuclear test was in 1992. Trump has argued that renewed testing makes sense because other nations are allegedly doing it, but in reality, full-scale detonations have become rare. North Korea is the only country to have carried out such tests in the past 25 years, with its most recent in 2017. China and Russia haven't conducted confirmed nuclear tests since 1996 and 1990, respectively, though both have pursued new missile technologies.

The US, for its part, routinely tests unarmed missiles. The global norm against nuclear blasts took shape in the '90s, even though a comprehensive test-ban treaty never officially took effect. Meanwhile, the US is in the midst of a sweeping $1.7 trillion modernization program to update its nuclear arsenal. Wright said Sunday's tests are part of that effort, emphasizing once again that "these will be nonnuclear explosions." The administration is "just developing sophisticated systems so that our replacement nuclear weapons are even better," he said. As for Trump, he's been vague when asked to clarify what he meant; on Friday he said only, "You'll find out very soon" when asked if he intended to resume nuclear detonation tests.