(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump has accused Russia and China of conducting covert nuclear weapons testing, challenging assertions that North Korea stands alone in such activities, according to statements made during an interview on news program that aired Sunday.

"Russia's testing, and China's testing, but they don't talk about it," Trump declared after host Norah O'Donnell informed him that only North Korea is currently testing nuclear weapons.

The presidential remarks follow his directive issued just three days prior, ordering the US military to resume nuclear weapons testing operations—a practice abandoned more than three decades ago.

Trump pushed back against international consensus, insisting America should not remain an outlier. "Other countries are testing. We're the only country that doesn't test, and I don't want to be the only country that doesn't test," he stated, adding that verification of where such testing occurs remains uncertain: one does not "necessarily know" where these countries are testing their weapons.

While emphasizing he has no intention of deploying nuclear arms, the president defended the need for testing to ensure operational readiness. "Doesn't it sort of make sense? You make nuclear weapons, and then you don't test. How are you gonna do that? How are you gonna know if they work?" he added.

Trump further asserted American nuclear supremacy, describing the nation's arsenal as possessing "tremendous nuclear power," surpassing "any other country."

"Russia's second. China's a very distant third, but they'll be even in five years. You know, they're making them rapidly, and I think we should do something about denuclearization...We have enough nuclear weapons to blow up the world 150 times. Russia has a lot of nuclear weapons, and China will have a lot," he said.

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