The Balhae controversies are disputes between the three main parties conducting the study of this state Korea, China and Russia whose position is fully supported by Japanese historians, over the history of the Balhae/Bohai kingdom. Due to its origins as the successor state of Goguryeo, Korean scholars consider Balhae as part of the North–South States Period of Korean history, while Chinese scholars argue Bohai is a part of Chinese history. (See Northeast Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) In traditional Russian historiography, this state is recognized as the first highly organized independent state formation of the Tungus-Manchurian peoples.