U.S. to Adhere to SALT II, Will Destroy 2 Atom Subs : President Plans to Go ‘Extra Mile’

President Reagan, overriding several senior advisers, has decided to dismantle two U.S. nuclear submarines to keep the United States within the limits of the controversial SALT II treaty when a new Trident nuclear submarine goes to sea, a U.S. official said today.

“He’s going that extra mile,” said the official, who demanded anonymity. He said the two Poseidon submarines, with 16 multiple-warhead missiles apiece, will be taken out of the U.S. nuclear fleet promptly and then destroyed over the next six months.

The decision was described as “tentative” in the sense that Reagan is sending two envoys to consult with allies in Asia and Western Europe before making a formal announcement.

Edward L. Rowny, a senior adviser, left Sunday for Tokyo to meet with Japanese leaders. He will go on from there to South Korea, China and Canada.

Nitze’s Mission

Paul H. Nitze, meanwhile, is due to leave Tuesday for London. After seeing British officials he planned to make stops in West Germany, Italy, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Nitze will also brief the NATO council while he is in Brussels.

The Trident, with 24 missiles, is due to begin sea trials May 20. This would put the United States above the ceiling of 1,200 missiles with multiple warheads set by the 1979 U.S.-Soviet Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT II) unless older missiles were destroyed.

The treaty has never been ratified by the Senate.

Most of the President’s advisers, including Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger, had urged him to let the U.S. total surpass the ceiling because, they allege, the Soviets have violated a number of arms control accords.

2 Urged Adherence

Only two senior advisers, Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Nitze, had recommended that the United States maintain its policy of not undercutting the treaty.

Reagan came down on their side, taking the same position he did last year when he ordered a Poseidon dismantled before another Trident went to sea.

Senate Democratic leader Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), Rep. Les Aspin (D-Wis.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Rep. Dante Fascell (D-Fla.), head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and a number of other leading members of Congress had urged the President to maintain the treaty.

Also, more than half the members of the House signed a letter sent to the White House warning that the Soviets had “hot production lines” ready to add to their nuclear arsenals if the United States trimmed its observance of SALT II.