38. Memorandum for the Record1
Washington, July 24, 1964.
SUBJECT
- Meeting with the President—11:15 a.m., 24 July 1964.
[Here follows discussion of unrelated matters.]
3. With respect to the Chinese atomic program, I said we could not foretell when the Chinese would explode a device. However, we had observed five installations associated with the Chinese Atomic Energy Program in various stages of assembly and operation and hence I concluded they had overcome some, if not all, of their problems associated with the Soviet’s withdrawal of technical assistance and were now making progress.2
[Here follows discussion of unrelated matters.]
- Source: Central Intelligence Agency, DCI (McCone) Files: JOB 80–B01285A, DCI Mtgs with the Pres, May–Oct 1964. Secret; Eyes Only. Drafted by McCone.↩
- An attached paper dated July 22, entitled “Chinese Communist Nuclear Weapons Capabilities,” is apparently the briefing paper that McCone used to brief the President on this subject. It states that the evidence was “still insufficient to permit confident conclusions as to the likelihood of Chinese Communist nuclear detonation in the next few months.”↩