The State Department is the primary institution responsible for the execution of diplomacy, although numerous other players, including the Department of Defense, play critical roles.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: The sanctions chimera

The U.S. Treasury, which has done yeoman's work on this front but been smothered in recent years by the "soft power" diplomacy of the State Department, needs a freer hand to run down North Korean offenders.

FORBES: Freedom's Edge

The event, initiated by North Korea and coordinated with help from the State Department, has been hailed as both a great success of artistic diplomacy and a failed play into the hands of an evil regime.

NPR: New York Philharmonic Set for North Korea Show