Kennedy Gloomy On Test Ban

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30127, 10 May 1963, Page 15

Kennedy Gloomy On Test Ban

(N.Z.P.A -Reuter—Copyright)

WASHINGTON, May 9.

The United States will continue its efforts to achieve a nuclear test ban in the light of President Kennedy’s new warning that failure of the negotiations could lead to another round of testing, officials said today.

The President said at his press conference last night that he was not hopeful about the prospects of an accord with the Soviet Union. If we don’t get it now I would think, generally, per.hjns the genie is out of the bottle and we will never get h.m back in again.” he said. Officials said the President’s metaphor gave new emphasis to a remark Mr Kennedy made earlier this year when he said he was haunted by the feeling that there would be 10 nuclear pow’ers by 1970 unless the talks succeeded. Mr Kennedy reported that there had not seemed to be any sense of movement in the Geneva test ban negotiations since December when Mr Khrushchev offered to accept two or three on-site inspections annually. 'We have tried to see if they will change that figure.” the President said. “We have, as you know, reduced our requirements. We have indicated a willingness to negotiate further "We have tried to get an agreement on all the rest of it and then come to the question of the number of inspections, but we were unable to get that. So I would say I am not hopeful at all.” Mr Kennedy then said he thought there would be another round of nuclear

testing if no agreement was reached. “Personally. I would think that would be a great disaster for the interests of all concerned.” he added Nevada Test Plans The United States Atomic Energy Commission last night announced plans for two small nuclear explosions at its Nevada test site this month as part of a Defence Department research programme. It said that the two detonations would be in the subkiloton range—with an explosive force less than that of 1000 tons of T.N.T. One nuclear device would be detonated as a ground burst, while the second would be in a shallow underground emplacement. In addition, a sub-kiloton ground shot would be set off with high explosives, in which a short-lived radioactive tracer would be used. “Most of the radioactive particles produced by the nuclear detonations are expected to fall back to earth inside the test site.’’ the A E C. said. ‘‘Precautions will be taken to hold off-site radiation well below established safety criteria.”