Samsung Electronics has been reportedly in talks with LG Chem on using its batteries for its upcoming smartphones, following a safety scandal that led to the withdrawal of Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 phones. The two South Korean companies are discussing ways to supply LG's batteries to rival Samsung's new smartphones starting next year.

Samsung is trying to diversify suppliers and lower risks related to the batteries.

Until now, Samsung SDI has provided the 70% of the batteries used by its parent company, Samsung Electronics. Chinese battery maker ATL provided the rest.

Samsung scrapped production of the fire-prone Galaxy 7 and said it would take a hit to its operating profit of about $3 billion over the next two quarters as a result.

The company had blamed faulty batteries for the original problem in its flagship device, but has given no indication about the cause of the overheating seen in the replacements.