From Taiwan to Pyongyang: Inside Asia’s Shifting Balance of Power

Event Description

Join the World Affairs Council for an engaging evening with Jonathan Cheng, China Bureau Chief for The Wall Street Journal and one of the paper’s leading observers of Chinese and Korean Peninsula affairs, for an inside look at the rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape of East Asia.

Beijing’s approach to Taiwan has grown increasingly assertive, even as its strategic partnership with Russia continues to reshape global politics. Meanwhile, North Korea’s expanding relationship with Moscow has provided Kim Jong Un with new sources of leverage and added further uncertainty to the future of the Korean Peninsula.

These developments raise important questions about the future of security and stability in East Asia: How is China’s relationship with Russia changing the strategic landscape? What does Beijing’s growing pressure on Taiwan mean for the region—and for the United States? Is North Korea emerging as one of the biggest winners of the Russia-Ukraine war?

Copies of Cheng’s new book, Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea’s Personality, are available for purchase.

About our Speaker

Jonathan Cheng is the China bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, overseeing coverage of the world's second-largest economy across politics, economics, business, technology and society. Jonathan leads a team of two dozen correspondents and researchers in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore and New York, with responsibility for the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Previously, Jonathan was the Korea bureau chief for the Journal, running coverage of North Korea and South Korean politics and business. He began his career as an intern in the Journal's Hong Kong bureau and also worked as a markets reporter in the Journal's New York office.

Jonathan speaks English, Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese, French and Korean. A native of Toronto, Jonathan graduated from Princeton University with a degree in history. He is the author of "Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea's Personality Cult," which was published by Alfred A. Knopf in April 2026. Jonathan lives in Beijing and has traveled to North Korea twice.

About our Moderator

Heather Yang Hwalek, a WAC board member, is a Trip Director at the Gates Foundation, where she advises the President of Global Growth & Opportunity on international affairs, communications, policy, and government relations, and leads execution of complex global engagements. She has held various positions at the Gates Foundation since 2020. Before joining the Gates Foundation, Heather spent over a decade with the U.S. Department of State Department, serving as an aide in the Office of the Secretary of State, a Political-Military Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Vice Consul at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, Pickering Fellow at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, and other positions in Washington, DC. She later served as an Advance Associate for First Lady Jill Biden in the Biden-Harris White House and is a Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Heather holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Columbia University. A Seattle resident, she also serves on the boards of OneWorld Now! and the Pike Place Market Foundation, and is a past Fellow of the World Affairs Council of Seattle.