Trump insists on increasing US nuclear arsenal

President Donald Trump has said that the US should expand its nuclear capability while there is no agreement to eradicate weapons on a global scale.

Trump told Reuters that the US must come "top of the pack" when it comes to the possession of nuclear arms, or it will leave itself vulnerable to attack.

"It would be wonderful, a dream would be that no country would have nukes, but if countries are going to have nukes, we're going to be at the top of the pack," Trump said.

"I am the first one that would like to see everybody - nobody have nukes, but we're never going to fall behind any country even if it's a friendly country, we're never going to fall behind on nuclear power."

The comments come as the US and Russia work to meet a deadline of February 2018 to lower their nuclear arsenals to the same levels. The US is currently estimated to have 6,800 weapons with Russia slightly ahead on 7,000, according to the Arms Control Association.

The impartial ACA released a statement condemning Trump's comments, saying he is "ill-informed" about the issue.

"Mr Trump's comments suggest, once again, that he is ill-informed about nuclear weapons and has a poor understanding of the unique dangers of nuclear weapons," the association said.

"The history of the Cold War shows us that no one comes out on 'top of the pack' of an arms race and nuclear brinksmanship."

Trump has often been accused of being too erratic to be in charge of nuclear weapons, with former presidential election rival Hillary Clinton saying that "a man who can be provoked by a tweet should not have his fingers anywhere near the nuclear codes".