South Korea’s consumer sentiment slightly worsened this month due to concerns over North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.

According to the Bank of Korea(BOK) on Friday, the composite consumer sentiment index for August came to 109-point-nine, down one-point-three points from a month earlier.

A reading above 100 means optimists outnumber pessimists.

The index, which surged 17-point-nine points from February to July, fell for the first time in seven months.

A separate index measuring the public’s feelings toward home prices plunged by 16 points to 99 this month, as the government issued strong measures to stabilize the housing market.

The drop marked the greatest monthly decline since the BOK started compiling related data.