American Official: We Will Begin Nuclear Testing Activities Like Other Countries

SadaNews - Howard Solomon, the Chargé d'Affaires and Deputy Permanent Representative of the United States Mission to International Organizations in Vienna, announced that "the United States will begin nuclear testing activities on par with other countries that possess nuclear weapons."

Solomon pointed out that the United States had previously expressed concern that Russia and China had not committed to halting nuclear testing, according to the "German News Agency."

He was referring to so-called "supercritical" nuclear test explosions prohibited under the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, where fissile materials are compressed to initiate a self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction resulting in an explosion.

The treaty, signed in 1996, bans nuclear test explosions—whether military or civilian—above ground, in the atmosphere, underwater, or underground, with the aim of halting the development of nuclear weapons.

The prohibitions include "supercritical" explosions that produce energy from a chain reaction, while some countries continue to conduct limited "subcritical" tests that are technically seen as a gray area.

Experts noted that the monitoring network recorded all six nuclear tests conducted by North Korea but is unable to detect "supercritical" nuclear tests of extremely low yield that take place underground in metal chambers.

Robert Floyd, the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, which monitors compliance with the global ban, stated on Friday that the organization's monitoring system "did not observe any event consistent with the characteristics of a nuclear weapon test explosion on June 22, 2020," the time when the United States claimed that China had conducted a secret nuclear test.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Friday statements by President Donald Trump rejecting a new version of a major nuclear disarmament treaty between Russia and the United States.

He wrote on the platform "X": "The (New START) treaty is no longer serving its purpose." He insisted instead on an arrangement that includes China as well, which Trump had previously advocated in an interview with the "New York Times."

In a lengthy post on the State Department's page on the platform "Substack," Rubio stated that "entering a new era requires a new approach." The Russian government recently expressed regret over the expiration of the treaty and an understanding of Beijing's position on not participating in potential future negotiations. The Kremlin stated that China's nuclear arsenal does not compare to the strength of the Russian or American arsenals.

The "New START" treaty expired on Thursday, leading to the absence of any cap on the largest nuclear arsenals for the first time in more than half a century and raising concerns of an unrestricted nuclear arms race.