274. Editorial Note
On December 19, 1962, Chairman Khrushchev, in a letter to the President, noted his governmentʼs acceptance of automatic seismological stations as part of the verification process for a nuclear weapons test ban. Khrushchev then referred to a proposal he alleged had been made by Ambassador Dean in a conversation with Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Kuznetsov on October 30, specifying that the U.S. would be content with two to four on-site inspections a year to supplement the stations. Khrushchev indicated that he would be agreeable to two to three on-site inspections a year. Kennedy replied December 28, stating he was “encouraged that you are prepared to accept the principle of on-site inspections” but demurring on the number of inspections. Kennedy contended that Dean had said that eight to ten would be necessary. Nevertheless, Khrushchev, in a letter of January 7, 1963, reasserted his willingness to accept two or three annual inspections. He also agreed to Kennedyʼs suggestion that a Soviet delegation meet with a U.S. delegation to review technical problems associated with the negotiations. For texts of the letters, [Page 597] see Foreign Relations, 1961–1963, volume VI, pages 234–240 and 247–249. For the Central Intelligence Agencyʼs analysis of the exchange, see Document 284.
Joined by a delegation from the United Kingdom, the United States and Soviet delegations met 10 times between January 14 and 31, 1963. The discussions produced no progress, and the Soviets terminated the talks saying they would continue negotiations in the Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee. The President announced postponement of a series of underground nuclear tests while the technical talks were underway but began the series on February 8 after the conclusion of the talks. Between that date and June 25 the United States carried out 29 test shots. For more information, see Foreign Relations, 1961–1963, volume VII, pages 633–637.