Washington does not rule out increasing its nuclear arsenal in the future, but the decision on this will be taken by the next US President Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources from the administration of current US leader Joe Biden.
„If the current trend continues and the situation develops in a negative way, then there may be a need to increase the number of US nuclear weapons deployed,” said an unnamed senior US official. Speaking of the “negative scenario”, he stated that Russia is “giving up arms control” and China and North Korea are “increasing their capabilities”.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the declassified “nuclear guidance report”, which will soon be sent to Congress, does not outline specific steps, but notes that Washington “may need to adapt its nuclear capability , its structure and size“ due to the fact that “many adversaries of the United States are making nuclear weapons a more important component of their national security strategies”. After taking office, Trump will have several “ready-made options” to strengthen all three parts of the so-called nuclear triad, the newspaper added.