US intelligence agencies believe China is developing a “new generation” of nuclear weapons — with Beijing having reportedly conducted at least one undisclosed explosive test already.
China’s plan to radically advance its nuclear capabilities — beyond its 600 operational warheads — could mean a severe shift in its overall nuclear strategy, US officials told CNN.
“They have a brand new generation of weapons for which they have no database,” one unnamed US source said, according to the outlet.
The revamp — China has reportedly conducted a secret nuke test sometime in February — has been fueled by a massive monetary investment the extent of which is not known.
The People’s Republic is continuing to develop low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons for the first time — planning to use them in potential scenarios where the US defends Taiwan militarily, the report claimed.
China has already conducted an explosive nuclear test in June 2020 at the top secret Lop Nur Facility, which is located in the country’s bleak northwestern region.
That 2020 test was conducted despite a self-imposed moratorium that was implemented in 1996, CNN reported.
New information on that 2020 test confirmed US suspicions that China is advancing its nuclear program, officials in Washington said. That test registered an explosion of 2.75 on the Richter scale, according to Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Yeaw, who reviewed the additional data.
“I’ve looked at additional data since then,” Yeah said. “There is very little possibility I would say that it is anything but an explosion, a singular explosion.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, told CNN that the US has “distorted and smeared China’s nuclear policy.”
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