INDICATE 0 0 COLLECT CHARGE TO • TOP SECRET Origin ACT ION NODIS lnfo1 REFTEL STATE Amembassy COPENHA GEN BR f JRI IMMEDIATE 2l z J o 5058 106059 XXX · Following is text referred to in reftel ·•· · mn Our review of the record ndicates that in 1957 we determined that the effective operation of the strategic deterrent would require sometime in the future storage of nuclear weapons at Thule Greenland Our records indicate - that while we believed that Article II b 3 ii of the 1951 Defense Agreement entitled us to store these weapons at Thule nevertheless we considered it important to determine whether your Government wished to be informed prior to ·•·•· introducing nuclear weapons into Greenland Accordingly our Ambassador made · Hansen an approach of this nature to the then Prime Minister mh 'ffilm on November 13 Hansen Mmm m 1957 On November 18 1957 Prime11i nister liIDa -T7 - Kgave our Ambassador a - written statement which he characterized as informai personal highly secret and limited to one cop'y each on the Danish and American side This statement noted the United St ates Government's view of the Base Agreement and that we had not submitted a concrete plan for storage nor asked questions as to the ttitude of the Dahish Government The Prime Minister concluded that in these circumstances no comment on his part was necessary ------Te L Ex 1 Drafte d b y EUR SCA N DEHcKillo cal 1 27 68 2428 He was adamant however Telo graphic t a nsmissi o n and class ifi cation approv ed by EUR - Mr John M Leddy Clearances S S - Mrs Davis SANITIZED E O 13292 Sec 3 5 FORM 8 -65 D5 322 NLJ KAC fJD-3Sf By j ' NARA Date COPY LBJ LIBRARY MF G 7 · 66 I TVI' SECREl however that there should be no publicit y now or later since any kind of leak mm could be highly dc 1uJaging to our two countri es Inasmuch as the Prinis Ministe r did not registe r objectic n to t ie po3sibi lity of storage and did not request that ha be informed prior to actual introduc tion of nuclear weapons '----- --__ _ 3 3 t_l ' 2 C-1 1r records also indicate t h t the question o f nuclear weapons o-pera ti' ons from Thule as discus sed early in 1964 by Under Secreta ry for Greenlan d Brun and Ambassa dor Blair in rel Z tion to an acciden t in the state ef Ymryl nd involvin g a U S bomber c rrying nuclear weapons This discussi on frankly addresse d the possi- 11 rn Xi bility hat a similar acciden t cou ld a rise as a xesult of operatio ns r n involvin g nuclear weapons at or near Thule laich would raise difficu lt question s in the Folketin • Ambassador Bl air suggeste d that if such an unfortu nate inciden t eve • occurred the Danish Gova nment could s tate that u s act i vities in G eenlan d had as their sole object tha dafonse i nte -ests of the Frae ·world and that e1ey h ad baan worked out in full coopera tion with Danish defense forces and t h e Da nish Gvver nt ncler t er ns a nd condi ti ons oi the 1951 D iense Agreeme nt accordan ce with ove -al l Dauish policie s and•in Under Secretar y Brun made no objectio n to this proposa l and pursued the matta no further 3 In connect ion with overflig hts of G -eenland · the effectiv e operatio n of the strategi c· deterren t has also requir d that such flights involvin g nuclear weapons be cerried en from time to timP in accordan ce with Article V 3 of the 1951 Defense Agraemant _ _ _ _ _ _ nor --' are there no - any overllig hts of g Green an _' d by u s a strateg ic COPY LBJ LIBRARY - MFG 7• 66 T011 SEeRE' F aircraft I wish to emphasize again that in view of the sensitivity of milita -y operations with nucl r weapons 11 _ the United States Government must continue to stand by its policy of neither confirming nor dellying publicly the on its aircraft or bases an here in the world presence of nuclear weapons In addition I urge tha t your Government in addressing this problem publicly in the future limit itself to a statement along the following lines nu s Operations in G reenland are the subject of regular consultation between the ' two Governments and are in accord with the 1951 Defense Ag- ceemant as well as their respective policie$ The Govarnment of Denmark is fully aware in this connection ' of its responsibilities to the Danish people in Greenland for their safety and defensa We are fully satisfied that the interests of the Dani sh people 1 rum· are being protected 0 5 We hope that all public statements on this matter by either Govenu r ant will be subject to consultation between the two Governments END COPY LBJ LIBRARY