Washington: US Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday that testing of the nation’s nuclear arsenal was essential to ensure it "functions properly," though he did not specify what kind of tests President Donald Trump had ordered.

"It's an important part of American national security to make sure that this nuclear arsenal we have actually functions properly, and that's part of a testing regime," Vance told reporters at the White House when questioned about the president’s social media post announcing nuclear tests.

He added that the president’s statement "speaks for itself."

With inputs from AFP