Independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo on Thursday pledged to establish a top-level hotline with North Korea and institute a conflict settlement apparatus, as part of efforts to improve the inter-Korean ties.

Announcing his policy on North Korea, security and foreign affairs, Ahn also said that he would seek to establish a four-way forum that involve the two Koreas, the U.S. and China, to discuss peninsular peace and help resume the stalled multilateral denuclearization talks.

“Based on inter-Korean reconciliation, I will seek to forge a positive cycle in which we can move toward settling North Korean nuclear issues and building a peace regime here,” he told a press conference at his campaign office in central Seoul.

Like other presidential candidates, Ahn has stressed dialogue with the North, without which he argues no progress will be made on a series of thorny bilateral issues.

His campaign said that it would seek to prioritize establishing a hotline between the leaders of the two Koreas through ministerial-level talks.

To help minimize possible skirmishes along the Northern Limit Line, a de facto inter-Korean sea border, Ahn pledged to build a direct telephone communication channel between the South’s command to defend the five western frontline islands and the North’s southwestern frontline command.

He also said that he would seek to restore the past inter-Korean agreement signed in 2004 to defuse tension near the maritime border and seek consultation with Pyongyang over zoning a joint fishing area on the premise that the North recognizes the NLL.

The areas along the western sea border have become a flashpoint as Pyongyang seeks to nullify it on the grounds that the line was unilaterally drawn by the then U.S.-led U.N. Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

During this presidential election period, the NLL issue has emerged as a key campaign issue with the ruling Saenuri Party alleging that former President Roh Moo-hyun made remarks renouncing the NLL during the 2007 inter-Korean summit.

On humanitarian issues, Ahn said that in cooperation with the international community, he would seek to establish a comprehensive plan to enhance human rights situations in the North.

Ahn also announced his foreign policy focusing on strengthening diplomatic ties with the four major powers of the U.S., China, Japan and Russia. He stressed that he would maintain a “robust” alliance with the U.S. to entrench peninsular peace.

“Based on the South Korea-U.S. alliance, I will push for ‘harmonious diplomacy’ with a focus on peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” said Ahn.

While strengthening the decades-old alliance with the U.S., Ahn said he would seek to deepen a “strategic, cooperative’ partnership with China, enhance strategic communication with Russia and “restore” partnership with Japan.

His focus on “harmony” appears to be in consideration of some critics’ argument that South Korea should diversify its diplomacy at a time the world is becoming increasingly multi-polar amid a relative decline of the U.S. and the rise of China and others.

Touching on the importance of multilateral economic cooperation, Ahn said he would seek to push for an economic integration among Korea, China and Japan while deepening strategic partnerships with India and the Association of South East Asian Nations.

Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo have sought to push for negotiations over their trilateral free trade pact, but failed to do so as diplomatic tension has increased over territorial and historical issues.

Ahn is now in talks over unifying the liberal opposition’s candidacy with Democratic United Party candidate Rep. Moon Jae-in. His policy pledges could face some adjustments in the process of the merger, observers said.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)