Kerry also telephoned the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea. He assured them that North Korea should understand it will face "significant consequences" if it continues "provocative" missile tests.

Speaking to the department's employees, Kerry addressed the sacrifices made by those killed in September at the U.S. mission in the Libyan city of Benghazi.

"The dangers could not be more clear. We are reminded by the stars and names on the wall," Kerry noted. "And we are particularly reminded by Chris Stevens and Glen Dougherty, and Tyrone Woods, and Sean Smith."

Cato Institute analyst Malou Innocent says Kerry has big challenges in Libya.

"It's very difficult to transition from a state-building operation to a nation-building operation, the sense of creating a cohesive Libyan identity. That's something that Gadhafi exploited to his benefit. He ruled by divide-and-rule, of course. So moving forward we are still going to see a degree of chaos in Libya even as it has a veneer of sort of a Western democracy," he said.

Kerry joked about succeeding two women -- Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice. He told diplomats he has "big heels to fill."

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