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US accuses China of secret nuclear test at Lop Nur

As of May 2026: Active; providing independent expert analysis

No country has acknowledged conducting a nuclear test since 1998. On February 6, 2026, the United States accused China of secretly breaking that taboo by detonating a nuclear device at its Lop Nur test site in June 2020. Beijing masked the explosion using underground caverns that muffle seismic waves.

Updated May 29

Notable Quotes

"I would not say that there's really strong conclusive evidence. We can't really confirm or deny whether a nuclear test took place at this point."

from US accuses China of secret nuclear test at Lop Nur · Updated May 29

"The ratios of different seismic waves is consistent with an explosion... it would correspond to an explosion equivalent to perhaps tens of tons of TNT." — February 2026

from US accuses China of secret nuclear test at Lop Nur · Updated May 29