BEIJING – A North Korean organization on Monday rebuked a Japanese court’s recent rejection of a lawsuit seeking nullification of a decision by local authorities not to pay subsidies to 10 Korean schools in Osaka Prefecture.

The Korean Committee for Aiding Overseas Compatriots said in a statement that the ruling handed down by the Osaka District Court on Jan. 26 represents a hostile attitude toward North Korea, according to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.

Based on a 2010 proposal from then Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto, the schools have been told to remove portraits of late North Korean leaders and sever ties with the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, known as Chongryon, as part of a four-point requirement to receive the subsidies.

The schools were not able to meet the requirements and both the Osaka Prefectural and Municipal governments that have introduced the criteria decided to halt payment of the subsidies in fiscal 2011.