U.S. releases new details on alleged secret Chinese nuclear test

"but it originated around 450 miles away at China's main nuclear test site, known as Lop Nur, according to Christopher Yeaw, the assistant secretary for arms control and nonproliferation at the State Department. "There is very little possibility that it is anything other than an explosion, a singular explosion," Yeaw said at an event hosted Tuesday by the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. "It is quite consistent with what you would expect from a nuclear explosive test.""

"But, he added, the signal was weak, and it was recorded at a single station. Based on those limitations and others, he believes that it's still possible that this could have been a natural event. "I would not say that there's really strong conclusive evidence," Dando told NPR. "We can't really confirm or deny whether a nuclear test took place at this point.""

"The Chinese Embassy did not immediately respond to NPR's request comment, but the government has forcefully denied the allegations. "The U.S. accusation of Chinese nuclear explosive tests is completely groundless," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said during a press conference last week. "China opposes the U.S.'s [sic] fabrication of pretexts for its own resumption of nuclear tests." Testing troubles The world's major nuclear powers haven't tested their weapons for decades. The U.S. conducted its last test 1992, and China c"

U.S. intelligence released an assessment that a small seismic event on June 22, 2020, detected by a remote Kazakhstan station, most likely resulted from a nuclear explosion at Lop Nur. The signal measured magnitude 2.75 and was traced roughly 450 miles to China's main nuclear test site. U.S. officials described the seismic characteristics as consistent with a singular nuclear explosive test. Independent seismologists noted seismic wave ratios consistent with an explosion but emphasized the signal's weakness and that it was recorded at a single station, leaving open the possibility of a natural origin. The Chinese government forcefully denied the accusation. Major nuclear powers have not conducted tests for decades.

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