U.S President Donald Trump has claimed that Russia and China have secretly conducted underground nuclear tests and said the United States would resume its own testing programme.

Speaking during an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes on Sunday, Trump alleged that several countries, including North Korea and Pakistan, have been testing nuclear weapons without public disclosure.

“Russia’s testing, and China’s testing, but they don’t talk about it,” Trump said. “I don’t want to be the only country that doesn’t test.”

His remarks have raised questions about whether the U.S. intends to conduct its first nuclear explosion since 1992.

The 79-year-old Republican made the surprise announcement via social media on Thursday, just minutes before meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping at a summit in South Korea.

The statement came shortly after Russia announced it had tested two new nuclear-capable systems, the Burevestnik cruise missile and an underwater nuclear drone.

When asked directly whether he planned to detonate a nuclear weapon, Trump responded:

“I’m saying that we’re going to test nuclear weapons like other countries do, yes.”

No country other than North Korea has officially conducted a nuclear explosion in decades, with Russia last testing in 1990 and China in 1996.

Pressed further, Trump suggested that other nations may be conducting secret tests:

“They test way underground where people don’t know exactly what’s happening. You feel a little bit of a vibration, but they don’t go and tell you about it.”

On Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed Trump’s claims, reaffirming Beijing’s adherence to its long-standing policy on nuclear restraint.

“As a responsible nuclear-weapons state, China has always upheld a self-defence nuclear strategy and honoured its commitment to suspend nuclear testing,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.

“We hope the United States will take concrete actions to safeguard global nuclear disarmament and maintain strategic stability.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright downplayed suggestions that Washington was preparing to conduct an actual nuclear explosion.

“The tests we’re talking about are system tests, not nuclear explosions,” Wright explained in a Fox News interview.

“They are ‘non-critical explosions’ used to verify the components and performance of a nuclear device without triggering a detonation.”

The United States signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1996, which prohibits all forms of atomic test explosions.

Although the treaty has not been ratified by the U.S Senate, the country has maintained a voluntary moratorium on testing for more than three decades.

The Presidency has dismissed claims that President Bola Tinubu is set to travel to the United States for a meeting with U.S Vice President J.D. Vance.

The President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Temitope Ajayi, refuted the report on Monday through his official X handle, describing it as false and misleading.

He said the story, originally published by Sahara Reporters, had sparked needless speculation and “uninformed commentaries.”

Ajayi clarified that if President Tinubu were to visit the White House, he would meet with President Donald Trump, not the Vice President.

“There’s a Sahara Reporters story claiming President Tinubu is going to the U.S. on Tuesday to see Vice President J.D. Vance. That story is not true. It has become the basis for some uninformed commentaries since yesterday. If the President visits the White House, he won’t be going to see a Vice President,” Ajayi wrote.

The clarification followed widespread reports alleging that Tinubu would be visiting Washington for high-level talks amid growing global attention on religious freedom in Nigeria and recent remarks by Trump threatening possible military intervention.

Over the weekend, former U.S President Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social account, accusing Nigeria of allowing the persecution of Christians and warning that the United States might “go in guns blazing” if the situation persisted.

“If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the USA will immediately stop all aid and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to wipe out the Islamic terrorists committing these atrocities,” Trump wrote.

In response, President Tinubu rejected the notion of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, reaffirming that the country remains a democracy committed to religious freedom and equality for all citizens.

“Nigeria stands firmly as a democracy governed by constitutional guarantees of religious liberty,” the President said in a statement shared on X.

Tinubu added that since assuming office in 2023, his administration has maintained open engagement with both Christian and Muslim leaders to promote peace and tackle insecurity.

He further dismissed external portrayals of Nigeria as a religiously intolerant nation, describing them as inaccurate and inconsistent with the country’s social and cultural diversity.

“The characterisation of Nigeria as religiously intolerant does not reflect our national reality,” Tinubu stated.

Reaffirming that tolerance is central to Nigeria’s identity, Tinubu said, “Religious freedom and tolerance have always been a core tenet of our collective identity and will remain so. Nigeria opposes religious persecution in all its forms.”

The President also pledged to continue collaborating with the United States and other international partners to promote mutual understanding and protect the rights of all faith communities.

“Our administration is committed to working with the U.S government and the international community to safeguard religious freedom and deepen cooperation on the protection of all communities,” he said.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu is set to meet with U.S President Donald Trump following recent allegations of a Christian genocide in Nigeria, according to a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Policy Communication, Daniel Bwala.

Bwala, who disclosed the development via a post on X (formerly Twitter), said the meeting between the two leaders would take place “in the coming days.”

“President Trump has assisted Nigeria greatly by authorising the sale of arms, which President Tinubu has effectively utilised in the ongoing fight against terrorism and the results are evident,” Bwala said.

He noted that both leaders share a strong commitment to tackling insurgency and all forms of terrorism, adding that the upcoming talks would address differing perspectives on whether terrorist attacks in Nigeria specifically target Christians or people of all faiths.

“Any differences in perception, whether terrorists in Nigeria attack only Christians or target all faiths and non-believers, will be discussed and resolved during the meeting, which could hold either at the State House in Abuja or the White House in Washington,” he added.

The announcement follows Trump’s recent warning of potential military action against Nigeria over alleged anti-Christian killings.

On Saturday, the U.S President said he had directed the newly renamed Department of War to “prepare for possible action,” threatening to cut off all aid to Nigeria if the killings continued.

“If we attack, it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our cherished Christians,” Trump wrote on social media, warning the Nigerian government to act swiftly.

Trump also revealed plans to place Nigeria on the State Department’s “Countries of Particular Concern” list, which tracks nations accused of religious persecution.

Bwala emphasized that despite the tensions, Tinubu and Trump remain united in their goal of eradicating terrorism and ensuring peace across Nigeria and the broader region.