A Japanese newspaper says South Korea, China and Russia may supply oil to North Korea if it agrees to freeze its nuclear program and admit inspectors.

Friday's Asahi Shimbun said that supplying oil is part of a three-stage strategy developed by Seoul and Beijing ahead of six-way talks on North Korea's nuclear program.

The report was quoting an unidentified South Korean government official.

The paper said the first stage of the plan would involve North Korea agreeing to a complete, irreversible and verifiable dismantling of its nuclear weapons program, in return for which the other five nations at the talks would supply security guarantees.

If Pyongyang indeed freezes its nuclear program and allows international inspections, South Korea, China and Russia would offer energy aid, with oil being a favored option.

The third and final stage of the plan would be the complete dismantling of North Korea's nuclear weapons program, in exchange for written guarantees on security and the removal of Pyongyang from Washington's list of nations purported to support terrorism.

Six-way talks on Pyongyang's nuclear program are set to be held in Beijing Wednesday between North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.