WASHINGTON, May 23. /TASS/. The United States authorities discussed whether to conduct their first nuclear test explosion since 1992, Washington Post reported on Friday referring to sources.
According to the newspaper, "the matter came up at a meeting of senior officials representing the top national security agencies last Friday."
"The meeting did not conclude with any agreement to conduct a test, but a senior administration official said the proposal is "very much an ongoing conversation. Another person familiar with the meeting, however, said a decision was ultimately made to take other measures in response to threats posed by Russia and China and avoid a resumption of testing," the newspaper reported.
The National Security Council at the White House declined to comment, the newspaper stressed.
The publication cited a senior administration official, who said that "demonstrating to Moscow and Beijing that the United States could "rapid test" could prove useful from a negotiating standpoint as Washington seeks a trilateral deal to regulate the arsenals of the biggest nuclear powers."
The newspaper noted that during the meeting, serious disagreements emerged over the idea of conducting a nuclear test. According to the Washington Post, advocates of nuclear non-proliferation believe that the resumption of nuclear testing could lead to destabilizing consequences.
"It would be an invitation for other nuclear-armed countries to follow suit," Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association said as quoted by the newspaper.
"You would also disrupt the negotiations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who may no longer feel compelled to honor his moratorium on nuclear testing," Kimball added.