Berlin  - An exiled Uighur activist, accused by China of terrorist activities, has been allowed to return to Munich after being barred from entering South Korea, the German Foreign Office said Friday.

Dolkun Isa, 42, was en route to Germany and was expected to arrive Friday at Munich's airport, the ministry said.

Isa had remained at Incheon International Airport outside Seoul since his arrival there Tuesday. Human rights groups worried that he might be sent to China, where he could face the death penalty.

Isa - the secretary general of the Munich-based World Uighur Congress, an exile group of the Chinese ethnic minority - has been on China's list of wanted terrorists since 2003.

He has denied China's charges against him, saying the Chinese government considers all Uighur activities for self-determination, freedom and human rights as terrorist in nature.

Isa acquired German citizenship after fleeing China in 1997 and being given asylum in Germany.

The Uighurs, who have long complained of discrimination at the hands of China's government, live in the north-western region of Xinjiang.

Tensions between them and China's Han majority in the region erupted in July into violence, which continued this month with further clashes. They government said about 200 people were killed.