US will match Chinese low-yield N-tests

WASHINGTON:

The United States is ready to carry out low-yield nuclear tests to match alleged secret explosions by China and Russia, ending a decades-old moratorium, a senior official said Tuesday.

New START, the last treaty between the United States and Russia that limited deployment of nuclear warheads, expired this month as US President Donald Trump called for a new agreement that also includes China.

Christopher Yeaw, the assistant secretary of state for arms control and nonproliferation, indicated that Trump was serious when he said in October, without giving details, that the United States would resume nuclear testing.

"As the president has said, the United States will return to testing on a — quote — 'equal basis,'" Yeaw said at the Hudson Institute, a think tank.