To Republican U.S. presidential contenders, North Korea's claim that it tested a hydrogen bomb may further make the 2016 race what they dearly want it to be: a referendum on President Barack Obama's foreign policy and, by extension, Hillary Clinton's.

For months, these Republicans have liked to say the world is "on fire," pinning the conflicts in Iraq and Syria, the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California, and the recent tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia on Obama's administration and Clinton's stint as his secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

Now, they can add North Korea to the threats they say face American voters.