ISTANBUL

China on Monday asked the US to uphold the moratorium on nuclear testing, after President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to prepare for the resumption of nuclear weapons testing.

“We hope the United States will uphold the moratorium on nuclear testing and uphold the global strategic balance and may take concrete action to uphold international disarmament and non-proliferation regime,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in Beijing.

Mao said China “always embarks on journey of peaceful development.”

“We uphold the principle of not to use nuclear weapon first and use the nuclear weapon for defense.

“We stand ready to work with all parties to uphold the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and uphold non-proliferation regime and disarmament,” she added.

Trump said Sunday that North Korea was not the only country testing nuclear weapons, claiming that Russia and China were also holding such tests.

“Russia is testing, and China is testing, but they don't talk about it," Trump said in an interview.

His statements came three days after he ordered the US military to resume testing nuclear weapons, which would be the first time in more than 30 years.