North Korea said Thursday it would dispose of all assets left behind by South Korean firms involved in two now-shuttered joint projects, further raising already elevated tensions on the divided Korean peninsula.

"We will completely liquidate all assets of South Korean firms and related institutions left behind in our region," the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea said in statement carried by the North's official KCNA news agency.

The projects involved are the Mount Kumgang tourism resort and the Kaesong joint industrial complex.