National Assembly candidate and former anti-virus software mogul Ahn Cheol-soo said Monday he approves of the way President Park Geun-hye is handling the security tensions between the Koreas.

"So far, I think President Park has properly managed the North Korea crisis," Ahn said on a local radio program ahead of this month's parliamentary by-elections. "I also want to highly assess the way she has tried to explain (the issue) to opposition parties."

The independent's remarks come days after the president said she would like to hold talks with North Korea amid escalating inter-Korean tensions over the communist nation's war threats, and more recently, its possible launch of a a medium-range missile.

The president also hosted a dinner meeting with leaders of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) last Friday in an apparent move to improve relations with the rival party.

Ahn, the front-runner for Seoul's Nowon C district in the April 24 by-elections, ran for president last year before dropping out to consolidate the opposition vote behind DUP candidate Moon Jae-in. (Yonhap News)