ABSTRACT
In the 1960s, India had maintained normal friendly relations with both the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the DPRK. India stood for the peaceful reunification of Korea through direct bilateral negotiations, between the ROK and DPRK without outside interference. In May 1973, the Government of India sent a mission to the ROK to examine whether conditions were favourable to raise their relations to full diplomatic level. In late 1983, the ROK was annoyed when India took an objective and even-handed position on the shooting down of a Korean Air Lines civilian flight, KAL 007, by a Soviet Interceptor SU-15 on 1 September 1983. Ambassador Sudhir Devare had encouraged some Korean organizations to arrange a function for Mahatma Gandhiss birthday on 2 October 1986 at the well-known Myeongdong Cathedral in Central Seoul. The advent of real democracy brought the ROK ideologically closer to the Indian ethos. The dawn of a new era in India-ROK relations was on the horizon.
