그 간의 간도영유권문제에 관한 연구들은 1909년의 간도협약의 무효를 규명함으로써 간도협약에 의하여 설정된 국경, 즉 그 결과 종래 조선이 주장하던 간도(동간도)영유권이 조선이 아닌 청(중국)에 귀속된 듯한 현재의 상태가 불법적이거나 또는 중국에게 법적 권원이 없으므로 현재의 상태는 1880년대와 마찬가지로 영유권분쟁이 존재하는 상태이므로 양측이 무효인 청일 간도협약을 대신하는 새로운 국경조약으로 유효한 국경획정을 하여야 한다는 논조가 핵심이었고, 이와 아울러 무효인 간도협약을 추진한 일본의 침략주의적 저의나 조약체결과정, 또는 조선의 간도에 대한 권원을 확인·강조하기 위한 조선과 간도와의 다양한 관련성 등을 다양한 학문적 관점에서 검토하는 것으로 집약된다.

그리고 이러한 의의를 기초로 그 이전의 연구쟁점과 그 이후의 연구쟁점을 구분하여 고찰하였다. 전자에 있어서는 <청일 간도협약>의 무효, 감계회담, 백두산정계비, 고지도와 관련한 논의와 관련하여 그 간의 연구성과들을 정리하여 보았다. 또 후자에 있어서는 <조중 변계조약>이 유엔 사무국에 등록되지 않은 조약으로 유엔헌장 제102조에 따라 유엔의 어떠한 기관에서도 원용할 수 없고, 또한 남북한 통일시 통일한국의 동 조약의 국가승계 여부가 문제되나 이 문제에 관하여는 국제법상 확립된 원칙이 없어 국제법정책의 차원에서 연구되어야 할 과제로 제시하였다.

The territorial sovereignty over Gando was claimed as a diplomatic issue between Choson(Korea) and Qing(China) in 1880’s. In the state which the issue was not solved by the two parties, Qing and Japan concluded the ‘Gando Agreement’ in 1909 and Choson could not set things right during Japanese colonial rule from 1910 to 1945. After Korea was liberated and divided into two Koreas in 1945 and the two Koreas formed each governments, the Gando issue was considered in an aspect of the unification of nation or territory.

The studies on the Gando issue had been focused on verification for the invalidity of Gando Agreement of 1909 to indicate that present situation which seems that Gando vests in China is illegal or unrightful and so a new valid treaty is required, as good as 1880’s treaty, to replace the invalid Gando Agreement. And also various related studies have proceeded such as on the intention of Japan in the process of the treaty and on the interrelationship between Korea and Gando to confirm and emphasize Korea’s title to Gando.

Meanwhile, the DPRK(North Korea) and the PRC(China) concluded a border treaty in 1962, but they agreed not to make public and not to register with the UN Secretariat. This secret treaty was obtained by chance by South Korea and reviewed its legal aspect with the confirmation of fact. According to the treaty between North Korea and China, Gando belonged to China but North Korea benefited in Cheonji(천지) Lake and Tumen River comparing to the Agreement of 1909. But this treaty is completely valid between the two parties in legal aspect.

Since the treaty between North Korea and China of 1962 nullified or invalidated the agreement between Qing and Japan of 1909, since then or at least after 2000 when the treaty became known to South Korea, the study to verify the invalidity of the agreement of 1909 in South Korea side from a legal point of view.

Based on these criteria, the previous issues and the following issues are classified; the former includes, for example, the invalidity of the Gando Agreement, border-demarcation talks between Choson and Qing in 1880’s, border monument on Beakdusan Mountain and old maps drew by various countries including western European countries. Whereas the fact that the treaty has never registered with the UN Secretariat does not allow the two parties to invoke it before the UN bodies according to Article 102 of the UN Charter and the matter of state succession of the treaty will come into question, which there is no established rule in international law about, therefore, should be examined from the viewpoint of international law policy as an issues of the latter.